


Be Still My Beating Heart

by Liomii



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Amity is emotional, Azura is bootleg shakespeare?, Belos is also mentioned but not shown, Chapter 1 is before grom, Chapter 2 is grom, Chapters 3 and so and so on are after Young Blood Old Souls, F/F, Medium Burn, Sort Of, anyways enjoy, apologizes if any OOC moments i wrote majority of this between 10 pm and 5 am on different days, can you tell i've never written a fanfiction before, like really emotional, lilith is mentioned but she doesn't speak because i don't want her to, luz really wants to go on an adventure with amity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:27:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 44,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28584234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liomii/pseuds/Liomii
Summary: Amity's love for Luz has been growing deeper each time she's around. Her determination to keep her feelings under wraps makes Luz grows curious, perhaps too curious for her own good.The best way to get to know someone is to get inside their head... Right??
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 18
Kudos: 148





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi hi hiiiii this is my first fanfic uhm :) I spontaneously got the idea to write it but hope you like it!!  
> As I'm posting this now I have 11 chapter written fully, but I'll be posting them every two weeks

“ _Ruthless Jaheer, mythical werecat, ruler of the Ruune City! You’ll rue the day you enslaved these people!_ ” Luz read aloud, standing with one foot on a chair and the other on the desk. She pointed dramatically at Amity, sitting comfortably in one of the cushion seats on the floor. Amity was only watching. She wasn’t as theatrical as Luz, nor did she want to be, but seeing Luz so enthusiastic was comfortable. Despite her volume.

“Luz, you have to be quiet, remember?” Amity commented while Luz was between paragraphs. The brunette nodded, clearing her throat.

“Azura pointed with her silver staff at the faulty king. “ _ These people are undeserving of your misfortune! They are full of light, and they will use that light to destroy you, once and for all! _ ” Luz jumped from the chair, almost falling. “ _ With the moon as my witness, tonight is your last night of tyranny, Jaheer! _ ” She pointed, then raised a fist to the ceiling. When she pulled her fist down to her chest, she peeked an eye open and read the next line. “Azura and her new found friends combined their magic and drew a large spell circle that shot a large blast of lightning at Jaheer, striking him in his core!” Luz groaned dramatically, acting as if she herself were Jaheer, writhing in pain. She then sat down heavily next to Amity, putting her arm around the witch and holding her close to gesture with her free hand. Holding the book in front of them both, she continued. “Holding her head high, Azura looked down upon Jaheer, charred and defeated. “ _ The people of your evil kingdom will now know freedom! _ ” she declared! She turned and waved to her friends, who broke out in a cheer. They had finally taken down the evil King Jaheer. The curse of shadows over the kingdom would seep away and its citizens would finally be free.” 

Luz sighed, and closed the book. Amity was keeping to herself, flustered by the other girl’s proximity. Luz pulled her arm back and held the book to her chest, sighing. 

“I sure wish I was Azura sometimes, you know Amity?” she peeked up at her friend. “Brave, fearless, loved by all the friends I’d made. It could make a girl swoon.” 

“Y-yeah.” Amity stuttered before clearing her throat and looking away when Luz leaned on her shoulder. “Azura is so heroic. I try to imagine myself in her shoes, saving people, having friends,” she sighed, smiling softly. When she opened her eyes, Luz was in her face. She sucked in a quick breath, looking all over her face. 

“Isn’t she awesome?” Luz stood up suddenly, dropping the book. “I could spend my entire  _ life  _ helping others and making friends! Just like Azura befriended Hecate. My biggest rival and I could become closer than ladybug wings!”

Amity hummed, wondering who on earth would be Luz’s rival. The girl was so lively and sociable, it didn’t seem like she could hate anyone. Or, at least she hoped not. Amity pondered their rough past for a moment, wondering if Luz could have hated her at some point… she was brought out of her thoughts when Luz exclaimed. 

“Oh my gosh Amity! We should cosplay as characters from Azura! I mean we could both be Azura, or we could be Azura and Hecate, unlikely friends but due to tense circumstances we got over our differences and teamed up!” she reached out to help Amity get to her feet. “It would be so fun! We should plan for it,”

Amity smiled gently. “Okay, maybe at our next meeting we can decide who we’ll be,” she summoned her scroll, looking through her calendar, but as she looked for an opening, her blood ran cold. 

“I think I could pull off Azura, I mean, not to brag but I think I make a good Azura impression- uh, Amity are you okay?”

Amity made her scroll vanish almost immediately. “Yeah! I-I mean,” she feigned a cough, “I think the cold air in here might be making me sick,” she sniffled. “We should probably end the meeting before I catch cold.”

“Are you sure?” Luz asked as Amity grabbed the book and put it in Luz’s hand, hurrying to usher the girl out of the room. Luz stopped at the door, fighting Amity’s pushing. “I mean, I promised Willow and Gus we could have another sleepover, but if you want me to walk you home-”

“Ahaha!” Amity laughed loudly, “Nooo I’ll be alright on my own I’m just gonna clean up in here and uhm-” she closed the door suddenly, getting a glimpse of Luz’s disappointed expression. She waited to hear Luz walking away before she relaxed.

Rubbing her forehead, she put her chair back and sat down. Now that Luz was around… Amity had been losing track of time. The days flew past every time the human girl came over for a book club meeting. Amity smiled as she remembered when Luz was so excited about it. Her smile faded when she sighed. Luz had been her friend up until this point, but each new day, Luz had taken up more and more of her attention. Whether or not the girl was around, she would occupy Amity’s thoughts. 

Amity ran her hands through her hair, taking out her ponytail.  _ It’s fine Amity… It’s just an event. It’s not like you’ll be selected anyways… just figure out a way to ask Luz… easy. _ She took a deep breath and lifted her head. Summoning her scroll she went back to the calendar.  _ Grom. _ The event that Amity had never really attended before simply because of disinterest. Now? She didn’t want to go… parties were  _ not _ her forte. But she was sure that as soon as Luz found out the bubbly girl would be  _ dying _ to go. With her decision made, Amity put her hair back up and gathered her stuff to leave the hideout. 

On her walk home, she went over her plan in her head.  _ Write note. Ask Luz. Write note. Ask Luz. Suppress any feelings until Grom arrives. Luz doesn’t need to know ahead of time. What if she found out I liked her and got her hopes up and then I chicken out of asking her? What if Ed and Em spill the secret. Can anyone really tell? I can hardly keep my cool around her anymore. Keep it together Amity! You’re supposed to be going over the plan! You have three days to write the Grom proposal… _ Amity stopped dead in her tracks.  _ What on earth am I going to write!? _ She thought frantically. 

Shaking her head, she quickened her pace.  _ Nice going Top Student! You messed up your plan by forgetting that you have to write the note! Idiot! Stupid! _ She continued scolding herself in her head when she reached the front gate of her house.  _ Relax… don’t let anyone know you’re thinking about asking Luz to Grom. Edric and Emira will tease you to no end if they get the hint. _

As soon as she opened the front door, she saw Luz. She was immediately startled. “Luz! Whaha,” she stood stiff, looking anywhere but Luz’s face. “Wahahaha-at are you doing here! I mean, uhm. I’m not upset that you’re here, I’m just surprised. Because I thought you were going to go see Willow and Gus!” She rambled. Realizing she had been gesturing with her hands, she pulled them back to her person, crossing her arms and leaning to one side, then standing up straight with a hand on her hip, unsure of how she should be standing.  _ Is she here because I told her I was sick? _ Amity thought worriedly, chewing her lip.

Luz leaned forward and tilted her head in confusion. Amity cleared her throat loudly and looked off to the side before reaching to put a hand on the other girl’s shoulder. 

“Look Luz-” she was cut off when Luz poofed into clouds of blue smoke. Amity stood there frozen. It took her a second to process it, but when she did, she flushed completely. Her face was outrageously warm. “Ugh!” she screamed in annoyance, her shout echoing but following after it came obnoxious laughter. 

“She fell for it!” Edric and Emira stepped out from hiding, walking over to their baby sister who was already on the move to avoid them. “Ah ah ah!” Edric put an arm in front of her, stopping her from going any further. “You were out past curfew.” he smirked.

“I was at a club meeting!” Amity fumed, clenching her fists.

“Yeah, we know.” Emira said smugly. “Oh! Luz! What a surprise to see you here!” she mocked Amity. “Actually what a good opportunity to tell you I’m absolutely  _ obsessed _ with you!” she got in Amity’s face. The younger girl responded by shoving her away. 

“I’m not obsessed!” she defended herself.

“And  _ this _ isn’t a picture of you and Luz in princess and knight cosplay.” Edric pulled out a piece of notebook paper that had been doodled on. Amity ignited it immediately. “It’s okay Mittens! There’s nothing wrong with having a gigantic crush on someone.”

“I do  _ not _ have a crush on anyone.” She grunted. 

“Of course not. No.” he waved his hands dismissively. “I mean, when I’m walking down the hallway in school and see my crush I don’t freak out and start running off at the mouth.”

“We’ll help you with your crush Mittens don’t worry!” Emira put her hands on Amity’s shoulders. 

“You won’t, because there is no crush.”

“Then what was that earlier?” Emira raised a cocky eyebrow. “Did you just so happen to forget that Luz has no access to our house? I mean, why would she hang out with us when she has  _ you _ ? And she was just with you but you see her once and you go haywire.”

“I was  _ surprised, _ that’s all.” Amity stepped to the side, walking past her siblings up to her room while they snickered. She closed her door and groaned, leaning against the door.  _ They know… that means everyone else knows. No… Ed and Em are just teasing.  _

_ Whatever. _

She sat down at her desk, and pulled out a pencil and paper. She leaned her hand and stared at the paper. Minutes went by and all she’d written was “Luz,”

She sighed and laid her head on the desk in defeat.  _ This is going to be harder than I thought. _

After a restless night of trying to write a simple note, Amity was a bit tired the next day.  _ Only two days until Grom, _ she reasoned, walking next to Skara and Boscha, not really listening to their conversation. She was wrapped up in her own thoughts, staring ahead and at the ground onto to let herself autopilot to her next class. 

Suddenly, it was quiet. She realized Boscha and Skara had walked off to their own class. Amity could see them down the hall, but she only watched them turn another corner. She was going to finish walking by herself, when she saw Luz running up to her. Bracing for impact, Amity clutched her books tightly and waited for Luz to pull her into what Luz called a “bear hug”, which she didn’t understand. What was a bear?

“Amity Amity Amity!” The human shouted just before she reached her. Out of breath, Luz held up a book. “The sixth Azura book is finally out! This one is about how she and Hecate find a mysterious river of sparkly purple water that leads to another world! We should read it at our next meeting,” Luz began to whisper as she mentioned the meeting. She took a step back and smiled wildly. Amity smiled and held her hand out to take a look at the book. Luz, being Luz, invaded her space and pressed her cheek against Amity’s to also look at the book.

“You didn’t read the cover?”

“Nah, I only read the synopsis from this fan website I’m on. But the book is finally out! I just wanna take a look!” 

“The Good Witch Azura: River to The Regal Valley.” Amity read the cover. She turned over the book, “Azura and Hecate, after straining their friendship over misunderstandings and secrets, find themselves on a river of whispering souls. The river carries them faster as they argue and they go over the edge, waking up in a world where everything is backwards…” She hummed. It seemed interesting. She wasn’t as excited as Luz when it came to reading it, she was just a normal level of excited. 

Luz took the book and gasped. “Arguing!? Nooo!” she yelled dramatically. “Azura and Hecate are like my  _ favorite _ power couple!”

“Couple?” Amity blinked. 

“Well, you have to read between the lines, but I definitely ship them! I mean, rivals to friends to lovers is such a good trope in literature. If I had any rivals I’d be worried about this trope because like,” she patted the book and stared at Amity. “You’re rivals because you don’t like each other! I understand becoming friends but can you really put your differences aside and fall in love with someone you used to hate?”

Amity blinked. Luz would always get spontaneously profound, but Amity guessed it was from her love of reading… “Uhm,” she looked to Luz, who seemed interested in her answer. “Yeah, I do.” She glanced to the side. 

Luz gave her a quizzical glance but didn’t press. 

Amity was growing anxious standing here alone with Luz. “Right! Class, I have to get to class, bye Luz.” she waved, turning quickly and race-walking to her classroom. 

Amity could barely focus. She shared a class with Luz but it wasn’t until after lunch. Yet the human wouldn’t leave her thoughts. 

_ “Can you really put aside your differences and fall in love with someone you used to hate?” _

The question spun around Amity’s brain.  _ Why was that the question Luz asked? Why did I say yes?! Does she think it’s impossible? Does she not know? Can she not tell? Well there’s nothing to tell I mean, Luz and I are friends. She’s just… affectionate. She seems really passionate about our friendship too… _

Absentmindedly walking down the hall to each class, she only answered questions when asked, instead of trying to be the best student of the day. She practically spent each class planning for Luz’s note. Until lunch, where she sat next to her “friends”, ignoring them while brainstorming in her head. When they asked she just said she was tired. 

_ Why is this so hard? _ She thought, staring at her lunch. She glanced over at Luz’s table. Willow had her notes out, but was watching Luz along with Gus. Luz was gesturing dramatically to a spoon. Amity smiled. She adored Luz’s antics. She watched quietly as the girl grabbed a napkin, wiped the bridge of her nose, folded the napkin, wiped the spoon, and then breathed on the spoon. She looked at Willow and Gus before putting the spoon on her nose and letting it go. Gus was amazed and Willow just laughed. Amity snickered and Luz, while looking between Willow and Gus, caught Amity’s eye. 

Instinctively, Amity glanced away immediately, pretending as if she wasn’t staring. But instead of staring at Luz, she stared out the window, beginning to daydream about a perfect world where she asked Luz to Grom, and she said yes, and they danced happily. The thought made her want to smile and pop with excitement, but she forced herself to keep a straight face, letting her mind get away from her. She imagined herself and Luz walking home, and standing outside of the front gate to her house. Luz was telling her something, whatever language that girl spoke sometimes that Amity didn’t really understand. She took hold of Amity’s hands, pulled her close and-

_ AAAAHHHHHHHH! _

The bell almost startled Amity out of her skin. Looking back at Luz, the girl had straws hanging from her mouth, looking like tusks. It was cute. Too cute. She found herself wishing she was sitting next to Luz, just for a day. 

Luz caught her eye again, but this time, Amity wasn’t prepared, and the brunette got out of her seat. Amity started standing up, and Luz jogged over to her. 

“Are you okay Amity?” Luz asked, worried. “Still stick?” she reached up and put the back of her hand on Amity’s forehead. Amity burned up immediately, making Luz gasp. “You  _ are _ sick! I shouldn't have let you walk home in the cold night! I could have kept you warm!” she exclaimed.

"No, it’s fine Luz, I promise.”

“It’s not fine! Let’s get you to the nurse,” she grabbed Amity’s hand and began pulling.

“Luz we have to go to class!” Amity protested, but Luz kept pulling. “Why are you so strong?” She grunted, letting Luz pull her along.

“Eda has me deliver her potions so I’ve gotten used to pulling weight. Not that you weigh a whole lot, you’re very small.”

Amity laughed nervously, smiling and blushing lightly until they reached the healer. Amity said she was fine but Luz insisted the nurse take her temperature. 

“You seem to be fine.” The healer glanced at Luz, “But if you  _ do _ feel unwell, just come by again.” 

“Thank you!” Luz waved, holding Amity’s hand as they walked to class. Amity’s heart was threatening to beat out of her chest. She hoped she wasn’t sweating. It wasn’t like this was the first time Luz has held her hand… It was the first time it happened  _ in school _ . She’d sometimes grab hold of it during the book club when acting out a scene or walking around the library when they were sure it was just them so they could sneak in food. “Okay! Abomination class!” she smiled, looking at Amity. “This time I’m  _ not _ the abomination.” She whispered to Amity. Both of them chuckled and walked inside, Luz having let go of Amity’s hand outside. The witch sighed internally, but forced herself to keep cool. 

Luz was a distraction the entire time though. She was drawing faces on her abomination materials, getting the goo all over her hands. And she would mock the abominations in front of the class, making faces at them and mimicking them. Amity put a hand over her mouth to resist snickering. By the time class was over, Luz had abomination goo in her hair and on her face, after showing one of the other student’s abominations how to high five. Amity didn’t hide her laugh when she saw Luz in the hallway. She unconsciously walked with her to her locker. Amity was going to another class, but Luz grabbed her arm suddenly.

“Just checking, you’re okay right?”

“Yes Luz, I took care of my little sniffle yesterday.” she reassured her.

“Okay. I just wanna be sure because I don’t want you getting sick when I can do something about it! If you ever get hurt let me know I’ll help you get better!”

Amity smiled. Seeing Luz so enthusiastic warmed her to the core. “I’ll make sure you’re the first to know.” she patted Luz on the hand before walking away. 

Smiling to herself, Amity had one final coherent thought for the rest of the day.

_ Writing that note… will be very very difficult. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is basically just grom uhm- :) i'll upload chap 3 tomorrow or sunday if i get on my pc again :D
> 
> besides chapter 1 literally all of the chapters have gone under editing so apologies in advance if there are any continuity errors,

Amity laid in bed, wide awake. Grom was tomorrow night. She barely slept. She had her note in hand, mentally preparing to ask Luz during school… but she knew it wouldn’t be easy. One of the things she loved about Luz was that she was never afraid to speak her mind and wear her heart on her sleeve. Luz would respond openly to Amity and it scared her to death. Amity had originally thought… in all her years… that she’d be married off to some random witch or demon her parents saw fit. Some upstanding man who had the same amount of power as them. She thought that the idea didn’t interest her because she didn’t want her parents to marry her off. But the fact that Amity had fallen for another girl…

She was unable to sleep. She imagined her parents being furious, her peers laughing at her. Edric and Emira would probably have a field day with her embarrassment. It was almost too much to think about, and she almost cried. Yet and still, she clutched her note to her chest. The worst thought of it all, was that Luz would say  _ no _ .

A quiet knock on her door and a quick peek out at the sun rising in her window was enough to tell her that she had gotten little to no sleep. She pulled herself out of bed anyways and got dressed. She tucked the note in her pocket, and forced herself to have courage. 

However, one step out of her room, and there Edric and Emira stood, smiling at her.

“Goood morning Mittens!” they said simultaneously, blocking her way out.

Amity blinked, holding onto her bag tight. “What.”

“Aw, don’t give us that attitude Mittens," Emira pretended to be offended.

"We’re gonna walk to school with you!” Edric leaned in, feigning innocence.

“No.” she said coldly, leaving them behind. They weren’t dressed anyways. 

She made it to the school in no time, but instead of walking around like she used to, she stayed in homeroom. She recited her plan of action in her head over and over until she got it down, but she realized that she didn’t have the books she needed for her class. She got up quickly, holding the note tight in her hand as she walked to her locker quickly, avoiding everyone’s gaze. 

After gathering her books she hurried back to her class, but not before bumping into someone. “Watch it, nitwit!” she snapped, annoyed because some idiot was standing in the middle of the hall. With a blink, she realized.  _ That’s my nitwit! _ She paused. “Oh, hi Luz.” she gazed to the side at Willow and Gus, “And co.” She grabbed one of her books and stood up, brushing herself off. “Sorry about that,”

“No problem,” Luz picked up Amity’s books, “lemme help you.” She handed them to the green haired witch. Amity didn’t meet her eye, embarrassed. “Here, your note.”

Amity froze for only a second before ripping the note out of Luz’s hand, the other girl only raising her hands in defense despite the smile on her face. 

“Wow, you’ve got some quick grabbers.” Luz joked, opening and closing her hands. 

“It’s just…” Amity paused. She held the note toward herself, staring at it. Regaining her composure she went on. “It's private.” she muttered. Luz looked none the wiser.  _ Maybe this is my chance, _ Amity thought, looking at the folded note. Instead she held it tighter.  _ No, not now. There are too many people. And I just told her it was private. _

The feedback on the hallway speaker got everyone’s attention then. Amity, like everyone else, looked up anxiously.  _ He’s going to announce the Grom royalty. _ Everyone else’s voice was drowned out to silence when she heard her name. She stood frozen as the crowd turned to look at her. She felt suffocated and scared. Usually, Luz’s voice would get her full attention and calm her nerves, but not this time. The room spun in slow motion. Overwhelmed, she ran. She barely heard Luz calling after her. 

Once away from any other student, she settled on the bathroom. She locked herself in one of the stalls and tried not to freak out.

_ I’m grom queen. Unbelievable… this  _ would _ happen. I can’t let the  _ entire _ school know… _

Heaving a sigh, Amity reeled in her anxious thoughts. Making the nightmare worse in her mind would make it harder to face in battle. Maybe things would go okay… but what if Luz saw? She had to attack Grom with her all. She can’t seem too eager to swing a sword at the illusion of the girl. Amity couldn’t find it in her to even  _ try _ to hurt Luz, whether or not she was real. But what if she hesitated? Grom would run rampant across the island!

She stepped out of the stall, walking off toward the gym to get away from the stuffy bathroom. It was enough for her to have space and be alone. Not to mention no one would bother her.

She sat there for a while, watching the students decorate the gymnasium for her utter humiliation.  _ There’s no way I can ask Luz now. Absolutely not. For her to see she’s my biggest fear?  _ Amity pictured the way Luz would react. Reading the note and then ripping it in front of her, giving her a cold stare before walking away. 

The thought made her heart ache. The pain felt sharper than any weapon ever could. And of course, Luz showed up into the room.  _ Think of the devil. _ Amity thought sourly. Luz peeked around to admire the set up of the gym. She gushed about how fun this was  _ sure _ to be, then spotted the button that opened the door to the arena. Curiously, she pressed it. The floor split, revealing the arena and summoning an arrangement of weapons. Amity got up, seeing that Luz was confused. 

“They’re not for decoration.” she spoke loud enough for Luz to hear her from the bleachers while she walked down. “This arena’s where I’ll make my debut as Grom Queen.” she slowly made her way to the floor.

“Right… so why don’t you seem excited?”

“Because this isn’t just some dance party.” Amity picked up one of the swords hung up, staring down at it thoughtfully. A gentle growling beneath the both of them pulled their attention to the arena. Grom’s shifting figure could scarcely be seen in the dark, but Amity knew it was there. 

Drawing a spell circle, she explained to Luz what Grom was exactly. 

“And mine… is  _ very  _ embarrassing.” she muttered, staring back at the sword.  _ Embarrassing enough to make me nauseous. _

Luz made a comment about talking to Principal Bump about getting a replacement. Then she gasped, “Unless talking to Bump  _ is  _ your greatest fear.” She leaned and looked at Amity with a curious intensity. It was cute enough to make Amity chuckle.

“No, but, that’s a good idea. Thanks, Luz” she smiled and walked toward Bump’s office. 

She hesitated.  _ My parents might kill me if I refuse to do this. I’m supposed to be an exceptional student. Grom to them is probably nothing… _

Despite her worries, she knocked on the door. Bump let her in and she sat down.

“Ah, Amity. What can I help you with?”

“Principal Bump… I’d rather,  _ not _ , be the one to face Grom.” she admitted slowly.

“Pardon?”

“I-I just don’t feel as if I’m right for the job,” she glanced off to the side. 

“Nonsense. You’re one of our best students. You can handle Grom just fine.”

“Is there any alternative?”

Principal Bump tapped his chin for a moment, humming. Amity clenched her hands together. “No.” He said finally. Amity’s expression looked helpless. “Unless you can find someone to take your place,  _ you _ have to face Grom. There’s no exceptions.”

“I see…” she nodded gently. “Alright, thank you.”

“Good luck.” Principal Bump waved as Amity closed the door.  _ What did you expect? What did you expect? _ She wanted to slam her head on the door but that would cause a scene. Instead, she held her breath and walked away.

Later that night, Amity couldn’t sleep again, for a different reason this time. She didn’t want to be bothered by her family, so she went for a walk in town. 

“It’s always something.” She grumbled to herself, hands in her pockets. “First the note, now I’m Grom Queen… what next Titan!?” she shouted to no one. So wrapped up in wallowing in frustration, she walked into a tree. As she rubbed her forehead and looked up, she found herself in the woods. “Even better,” she sighed. At least it was secluded, or she thought.

She ran her hand over a bush, the rustling of the leaves and the cool breeze relaxing her nerves.  _ I’ll just… find a way to tell Luz before Grom. Easier said than done but, its easier than Grom. I hope. _

She took another step and before she knew it a stick came flying at her followed by someone screaming. Startled, she didn’t prepare for it to hit her and she fell over. “Ow!” she shouted, landing in the mud.  _ Gross! _ she started to sit up. A gentle gasp sounded above her and footsteps drew closer. A small ball of light and she saw Luz.  _ Of course _ . Amity groaned inside her head.  _ Of course! Titan help me, _

“Oh my gosh! Amity!” Luz exclaimed as Amity shook the filth off her sleeves. Luz reached out to help the girl stand, but Amity's feet slid on the mud. “I’m so sorry!”

“And here I thought this day,” Once finding her footing, Luz pulled her close. With a small “oop”, their faces inches apart. Amity was glad she was too anxious to be flustered, but the thought lingered in her mind anyways. She let go and sat down on the nearby stump. “Couldn’t get any worse…” she looked at her shoes, holding her hands together.  _ I can’t tell Luz. This is the second time I’ve practically made a fool of myself in front of her!  _

Luz looked around but ultimately sat down roughly in the mud, splashing a little bit of it. “Did you talk to Bump? Was it as terrifying as you imagined?”

_ Absolutely _ , she thought to herself while sighing. “He said no.  _ I’m _ Grom Queen, unless I can find a replacement." She held onto her shoulders and turned away from Luz. "Who would wanna switch with  _ me _ ?”  _ No one  _ wants _ to face Grom… they’d be an idiot to- _

“I would.” Luz said softly. 

Amity blinked. “What?” she turned to face the human. Luz sat up a little, leaning on the stump.

“Amity Blight,” she said in that voice she did when voicing Azura, ready to make a bold declaration. “ _ I’ll _ do it! I’ll take your place, and face Grom in the arena! I’ll be your fearless champion!” she stood in front of Amity, facing away from the girl.

It was sweet… but the spider in Luz’s hair looked ready to make itself known. It was huge, and Amity couldn’t stop staring at it. It crawled onto Luz’s face and Amity leaned back in disgust as Luz screamed and went head first into the mud. Rolling over to, what seemed like, get rid of the spider. The girl rolled into a stump pretty hard. 

“Fearless, champion!” she declared again weakly, holding her thumbs up as she laid in the mud, the spider scurrying off to ruin someone else’s moment.

_ How long has it even been there… _

Amity helped Luz to her feet.  _ Ask her now, ask her now! _ Her mind urged.

"H-hey, Luz…" she hesitated. Luz brushed the mud off her face.  _ I can't.  _ “Are you okay?”

“Okay yeah I’m fine.” Luz rubbed her head. “Believe it or not, this is not the first time this has happened!” she laughed. “Are you okay to go home by yourself?”

“Yeah. It’s past curfew and I should have been back an hour ago. Thanks for the offer though.” she waved. "Bye Luz.” Luz grabbed Amity’s hand and pulled her back, pulling her into a tight hug. 

With her anxieties gone, Amity has just enough space to process what had happened. She hugged Luz back gently before being let go.  _ Then, _ she went on her way.

No sign of her siblings when she went home, her parents still weren’t back from their business trip. It was a silent walk to her room where she hid her note under her pillow and got ready for bed.

. . .

Training Luz the following day was barely eventful. From what Amity could tell, Luz’s fears resided in her ability to help others, and prove that she isn’t helpless. Not to mention they were all at face value. It worried her that she was being irrational about  _ her _ fear. She didn’t even bring it up to Luz. But she was glad Luz never asked.

Waiting for Luz to show up at the dance was more nerve wracking than knowing she would be facing Grom in Amity's place. Amity left her group and went to stand at the door. She needed a moment to breathe. Taking the note from her pocket, she held the note gently. Its contents seemed to mock her. Her ear twitched as she heard someone approach. She quickly hid it behind her back when Luz stepped into the door frame. She tucked it away and stepped up to Luz, complimenting her subtly before thanking her. 

Luz made a small joke and Amity laughed. It was the small quiet moments that Amity loved the most when she was with Luz. Luz was softer, not as easily excitable. Even if that was Amity’s favorite part about Luz, her extensive friendliness, she enjoyed her gentler moments too.

Before she could say anything else after a smug reply to Luz’s joke, Luz’s friend Gus began announcing her arrival. Luz gave a thumbs up and Amity wished her luck. Though… she felt guilty.  _ I’m sorry Luz. I’m sorry I’m too much of a coward to face Grom on my own _ . She exhaled softly and stood by the door. She watched Luz fight and was intrigued, even if the guilt hung in her stomach like a hex. Her nerves were on edge, ready to jump in the minute Luz got hurt, but she was fighting well. It was impressive. 

That is until Grom reached out and touched Luz’s forehead, both the human and the monster’s eyes glowing an icy blue and Grom turned into a door of some sort. Someone stepped out. Luz froze. She dropped her weapon and frantically tried to explain, but Grom turned that person’s image into a twisted half human monster that seemed to chill Luz to the bone. It wasn’t long before she ran past Amity out of the gym, and into the hall, yelling that she wasn’t ready. 

Amity and Eda, Luz’s mentor from what Amity understood, shared a quick glance before going to rescue Luz. 

They caught up to her before long, and Amity stepped in right away. She didn’t care if her fear was revealed, she’d rather protect Luz. 

Grom turned from Luz’s fear, into Amity’s own after reading her mind. A person about her own height with its hand on her shoulder. It had no face, just cold white eyes staring at her. She heard Luz say something, confused. She wouldn't know who this was. Grom didn't appear to be anybody, but Amity could make out Luz's basic silhouette anywhere. Grom reached into her pocket and pulled out the note. It let out a low whisper, one only Amity seemed to hear, in a distorted voice.

_ “Never…” _ it hissed ripping the note. It crumpled the torn pieces into little balls of paper and dropped them. Amity clutched her dress, head down as she fought tears. 

_ It's not real. It's not real.  _ She repeated to herself as Grom slithered back away from her.

Amity clutched her dress, holding back tears. It  _ did _ hurt more than she thought it would, but Luz stepped in and picked up the note. She confirmed Amity's fear quietly, then offered to go to Grom with her. The sentiment was nice, but Luz insisted it was a friendly gesture. Swallowing back a complaint, Amity held out her hand, and she and Luz shared a lively and enchanting dance, defeating Grom and earning their crowns. 

Back at the school, Amity stood on her own in the far corner of the room. She wasn’t big on parties, she knew that. She was watching Luz have fun. That was enough for her. She got dragged into a photo shoot anyways, and tried to keep her cool. After that, she spent the rest of the night with Luz and her friends. She kept to herself, but laughed and spoke when she felt necessary. Not too much, but just enough to keep Luz smiling. The night ended well, but the thought of how Luz actually felt about their relationship with each other hung around Amity's head like an obnoxious pixie.

After the dance, after everyone went home, Amity walked silently with her siblings. They were brooding in their own way, but the night was exhausting. She didn't really get the happy ending she wanted. She felt selfish to say that the dance wasn't enough for her. She was grateful, for the entire night, but she felt sour.

_ We’ll only be friends I guess. _ She heaved a sigh.  _ I can’t get you out of my head, and to you we’re only friends. _

“I’m allowed to be disappointed.” She muttered to herself, taking the crown off and putting it in her keepsake box. She brushed a hand over it lightly. “Will you ever want what I want?”

_ Can you put aside your differences… and fall in love. _

The thought repeated itself to Amity as she got ready for bed. It gave her a dreamless sleep, and greeted her with an uneventful morning. 

Day after day, she thought about it. Her mind wandered whenever she did. 

_ Maybe Luz was hinting at something, but she’s not very observant. _

_ Maybe it was a question? But for what answer? _

_ Does she really only see us as friends? _

The final thought brought her to a halt at her locker. She didn’t have an answer for that one. Instead, she ignored it. Luz’s following antics charmed her like a melody over and over again, but Amity was  _ far _ more aware of her feelings for Luz. They came on strong wherever she was near. Beyond the occasional daydream or slight blush, Amity was a mess. Fumbling over words, talking a lot, saying things without thinking. Going as far as getting involved in one of Luz’s challenges. 

Amity was easily distracted. Her staring and lack of focus with Luz at her side got her injured, the healer said it would take a while for her leg to be healed. Her mother would probably have a field day threatening Boscha’s mother. But being as Amity’s parents had just recently returned home, there wouldn’t be much room for conversation. Only orders and demands and reminders to be the best. 

When she got home in her cast, her mother gasped dramatically. “Amity what happened to you!” she ran over to her daughter.

“I got injured playing grudgby,” she muttered. Her siblings peeked around the corner to see what had happened.

“Grudgby? I thought you quit! What in Titan’s name made grudgby more important than your studies?” Odalia scolded. 

“I-”

“It was rhetorical, Amity. But now that you’re no longer in any shape for rough housing sports, you can get back to work. I’d like to see what you’ve learned at school while I’ve been gone. I’ll make adjustments to your classes to go along with your studies.” she turned away without waiting for Amity’s response.

Her siblings approached her, interested.

“Injured playing grudgby? Against who?” Edric asked. 

“Boscha.” Amity muttered, hoping her mother wouldn’t hear. But it was no use, her mother had turned around.

“You lost to  _ Boscha? _ ” She fumed. Letting out a grunt of disgust. “Amity, as a  _ Blight _ you need to take your reputation seriously. Nevermind showing me what you’ve learned. I’m having you moved onto more challenging classes. Boscha may be a brute but she’s no  _ Blight _ , and you’ll be a better student than her yet.”

“But-”

“Do  _ not _ , argue with me after you’ve left a mark on our name,  _ Amity _ .” her mother cut her off again, storming off, probably to complain to their father. 

Amity had wanted to tell her siblings that she’d had fun playing grudgby with her friends, even if she got hurt or even if they lost. Now? Her mood was ruined. She wanted to ultimately cry, but she didn’t. She put on an annoyed face and used her crutches to hobble to her room. Amity waited a few hours for her mother to leave to make her inevitable demand to Principal Bump, and then left herself.

She stopped at the Owl House, hoping to find comfort in Luz’s presence. She’d never cry in front of the human girl, but at least Luz had a way of making her feel better no matter the situation.

Willow and Gus were there, sharing tea, it looked like. Amity gave a wave and sat down next to them. Luz set her cup down, and seemed to sense that something was upsetting Amity, and gave her a gentle side hug. 

It wasn’t what Amity expected, especially with other people around, but she leaned into the hug and relaxed. It would suffice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry if you saw this post and then i changed it lol idk how to use ao3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sleepover :)

“Amity!” Luz exclaimed down the hall. 

“Oh, hi Luz.” Amity leaned on one of her crutches. She held one arm out to let Luz give her a hug.

“It’s been about a week and a half, just like the nurse said! You’re almost healed!” Luz bounced.

“Yeah. I’ll be grateful.”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s not like I wanted you to stay hurt but I would have loved to be your student helper!”

Amity raised a confused eyebrow. “My what?”

“Well, here you guys have abominations, which is kinda unfair. But back in my realm, when you’re injured like this, you have a classmate or a friend help you carry your stuff!”

The word friend stung Amity a little bit. She knew it was because Luz didn’t know, but that didn’t mean she wanted to hear it. Amity only hummed in response. 

“I could have been yours but you got this big guy,” Luz smiled and patted Amity’s helper abomination on the arm. “I won’t keep you any longer, but don’t forget about the  _ meeting _ .” Luz winked. Amity chuckled. She had a funny way of keeping secrets, but she gave Amity a thumbs up.

“About that, Luz. Tomorrow is my last day of healing, so I’ll be at home all day.”

“Not even in school?” Luz seemed downcast. Amity’s heart gave a small pull, but she shook her head. “Healer says I need to stay in bed for the last day.”

“Bogus!” Luz shouted. “Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out.” She smiled, leaving Amity behind to go to class. Amity didn’t give the comment much thought, until the tomorrow afternoon. Amity was in bed, reading, when her door swung open wildly, scaring her out of wits and she dropped her book.

“Edric! Emira!” She shouted angrily as the twins stood in her doorway. 

“Sorry Mittens,” they both sang, reaching out and pulling Luz into the room. The girl was outrageously smiley, but Amity had a difficult time believing it was Luz, even if her face started to heat up anyways. “Luz here said she didn’t want you to spend all day alone without company so she asked us if we could let her in to say hi to you!” Edric explained, nudging Luz forward some. Both him and Emira were giving Amity a sinister smile, knowing very well how she felt about this.

“And here she is!” Edric backed up 

“How do I know this isn’t one of your stupid pranks that’s just an illusion of Luz?” Amity crossed her and glared at them.

“Wait what?” The brunette tilted her head, making Amity sit up fully.

“Nope!” Emira put her hand on Luz’s head, ruffling her hair.

“This is the real deal!” Edric grabbed her bag and shook it.

“But we’ll leave you alone. Have fun with your book club!” Emira snickered as she and Edric left the room. 

Luz watched the door close. She turned back to Amity as the witch relaxed back into her bed. Amity had covered her face with one hand, embarrassed.

“Sooo~” Luz walked over to Amity and stood beside her. Amity lifted her hand and looked at Luz, the goofy smile was too much for her to resist. Amity let a smile crack through and she turned her head away to hide her inevitable blush. “Ah! There’s my Amity!” Luz hugged the bedridden girl tightly.

“Careful! Careful!” Amity exclaimed, patting Luz on the back. 

“Right, sorry, sorry.”

“So, what are you doing here?” Amity adjusted the way she was sitting so she could look at Luz properly.

“Well, you said that you had to be home all day. I don’t know how  _ you _ feel about missing  _ school _ , but I know how  _ I _ feel about missing  _ club time _ ! So I put two and two together! Why not just bring the book club to you!” Luz held the book up to Amity, who took it slowly. “It’s the new one too! I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, so I thought, perfect opportunity!” she gushed and pulled Amity’s chair from her desk and sat on it. “You can relax and lay there, healing, and I can read the book to you. Or I can act it out.”

Amity smiled gently, looking down at the book. “Thank you Luz, you didn’t have to do that,”

“But I did! I know Boscha is a big ole meanie and wouldn’t dare spend time with you to help you heal faster, but I would! And I am!” Luz started leaning on the bed.

Amity laughed. “Okay, then,” she tapped her chin. “You can act out half of it, if you have the energy, and when you get tired you can just read it.” she handed the book back to Luz.

Luz smiled and put down her bag beside the bed. She took the book and stood in the middle of Amity’s room. She cleared her throat and began reading the book. Amity folded her hands over her chest, watching Luz with a soft gaze. She was listening attentively, but as Luz went on, Amity found herself only watching. Luz's voice was passionate and she looked so into acting. Being dramatic and gesturing wildly to really paint the picture. Luz’s voice was quiet in Amity’s head though. The human had drawn out the core of Amity’s affectionate gaze. She watched Luz as she practically danced around, falling further and further in love with her. 

It was comforting, but she’d have to read it herself since she was enraptured by Luz’s performance and wasn't actually paying attention anymore. It went on for about an hour, and Amity’s eyes were drifting shut. She noticed Luz had stopped her reenactment, and had laid beside her on her bed. Luz was careful to mind Amity’s elevated leg, but put her arm around the injured girl and read calmly in her own way. Amity wasn’t sure if Luz was ever able to be subdued, since even her gentle reading was melodramatic. Even so, combined with the natural warmth of Luz’s presence and comfortable clothing, Amity was basically being rocked to sleep. 

She’d drifted off unknowingly, but woke up to her door being opened. Emira walked in slowly, as if there was danger in the silence. Then, after catching Amity’s eye, her gaze softened momentarily. It went back to its usual mischievous smirk as she approached with a small tray. “Well isn’t this cute,” she commented, setting the tray on Amity’s nightstand. “Snuggled up nice and cozy huh, Mittens?”

Amity only glared. She glanced at Luz, who had also fallen asleep. The book was resting on Luz’s chest, which was gently rising and falling as she dozed. Amity had unconsciously leaned on the other girl’s shoulder, and Luz was leaning against her head in turn. Amity wouldn’t dare move and disturb her peace.

“You should be glad Mother left to run more errands.” Emira stood straight, hand on her hip. “She’d surely have a fit.”

“How did Luz get in here?” Amity was bold enough to ask.

“We snuck her in. We told you we would help, and look, we helped.”

“This is far from helping, you’re-”

“ _ Helping _ , yes!” Emira clasped her hands together. “Anyways, Edric is downstairs trying to get himself out of an illusion box, and I have to go back and help him.  _ But  _ I brought you guys  _ snacks _ in case you were hungry.” She moved the tray to Amity’s stomach, “Have fun.” she said before leaving and closing the door. 

Amity summoned her scroll, not touching the food. She pulled out her camera, only to get a better view of Luz’s sleeping figure. With a soft smile, Amity turned off the flash and leaned in closer to Luz, taking a picture quietly. She brought the scroll down and admired the photo only briefly before sending her scroll away. She took the book from Luz, folding the corner of the page to bookmark it. She felt guilty about moving but she sat up, sliding the tray down her lap so she could put the book on her nightstand. 

Luz made a soft noise of waking up, and Amity turned around to see the girl sitting up rubbing her eye, yawning. “What time is it?”

“It’s not late, just a few hours til the sun sets.” Amity explained gently. “My sister brought us something to eat while the chef makes dinner,”

Luz gasped. “You have a chef?” she got in Amity’s face.  _ Darn it Luz, personal space. _ Amity blinked, hesitating to answer.

“Aha, yeah we do.” She muttered. “But they wait for my parents to tell them when to cook. They’re supposed to bring my food up to me today.”

Luz squealed. “That’s so cool!” She was about to say something else when her door opened again. Another gasp and Luz climbed off the bed, running to greet the person at the door. “Willow!” she pulled the girl into a tight hug. “What are you doing here?” she held her away at arms distance. 

“I went to come see you, since Gus has a cold, but Eda said you came here.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “The twins let me in also.”

Luz bounced. “Oh my gosh, Amity we could have a sleepover!”

Amity only blinked. She was in no way upset that Willow showed up, but she was a tad irked that, once again, her moment with Luz was interrupted. Luz took her attention back to Willow, pulling her in. “I’m so glad I prepared for this!” Luz went over to her bag, which Amity noticed was bigger than her usual one, and pulled out a box. “I don’t know what kind of games you guys play usually, but I borrowed Eda’s Hexes Hold’em cards!” she set the card on the bed next to Amity. 

The three girls played for a while, but Luz got distracted by Amity’s collections and they switched between chatting, eating, and playing more games Luz had brought.

“We should go check up on Gus tomorrow. How was he feeling when you saw him?” Luz asked Willow, sitting cross legged on the bed beside Amity while Willow plucked a brick from the tower of bricks and placed it on top. Luz said it was called “Jenga”, it was an odd name for a game, but it was holding her attention. Willow had even made a small leaf table for them out of one of Amity’s plants.

“Uhm,” Willow smiled after the tower didn’t fall over. “He was frozen solid last time I saw him,”

“Frozen?!” Luz exclaimed. “You said he had a cold!”

“Yeah, the kind of cold that turns you into a block of ice until you recover. He’ll be fine.” She shrugged. “It’s what he gets for touching the snowdrops in the plant homeroom despite me telling him not to.” She grumbled. 

“Oh! That’s why those are covered in snow! I didn’t know they froze you!”

“There are lots of different flowers that may or may not be harmless. You’ll learn more about them and what they can do to you next time you're in class.” she said awfully upbeat despite the implications.

Amity chuckled. Not being in the plant classes meant she was always learning from Willow and Luz, since they both studied in that coven’s classes. 

The girls kept pulling out blocks and placing them until Luz clumsily knocked it over. Willow used her plant magic to keep it from falling on Amity, but Luz, in defeat, stood up. “Darn it! I was sure it wasn't gonna fall!” She fussed, “Well, nature calls. I shall return!” She walked out of the room and waved. Moments passed before she came back in.

“It’s down the hall, big white wooden door with a golden wreath.” Amity explained. Luz pointed finger guns at her and turned to leave again. Amity was scarcely aware of how the door was cracked open.

Amity sat up and stared at the door. Then she turned to Willow, who was putting the bricks back in their box. 

“Willow… can I tell you something?” she barely squeaked out. Willow hummed and looked at Amity. She played with her fingers for a moment. _Spit it out! This isn’t a confession!_ _At least not a confession_ to _Willow._ Amity urged herself to take a deep breath. “I… I have a crush on Luz.” She winced. A second passed and she opened an eye to look at Willow. Willow tapped her fingers on her arm. “I figured,” She shrugged a little. “But, you know-”

The door swung open again violently, slamming into the wall and cutting Willow off. “Guys! Look what I found in the hallway!” Luz shouted, holding a movie case in the air.

“Luz!” Amity hissed.

“Right, secret, hehe,” she closed the door softly and tip toed over to her friends again. “We should watch it!” 

“On what? My parents won't let me use my crystal ball for at least a week.”

Luz tapped her chin. “Well, I have a few illusion glyphs, I can make my phone bigger and make it like a movie screen. The DVD won't work but I can still look it up. Maybe you can use your plant magic to hold it in place?” She looked at Willow who nodded with a smile.

Amity bit her lip. She wanted to know what Willow was going to say! She didn't dare ask right then and there however. After Luz and Willow set it up, they watched the movie on Luz’s enlarged phone that sat blocking the window. Luz and Willow sat on the floor, giggling and whispering about the movie. Of course it was an Azura movie, but Amity couldn’t think of any comments. Willow was going to tell her something, but what?!

She barely paid any attention to the movie. She stared at the screen, chewing her lip and trying to fill in the blank, but nothing would stick. 

_ But you know? What am I supposed to know!? Is it about Luz? Does she know? She doesn’t act like she knows… Did Willow and Luz talk about it? That would make sense. She seemed suspicious of it when I fumbled telling them that Luz was facing Boscha. She and Luz are close. That’s probably what she was going to say. Unless it wasn’t about me, or anyone knowing. Was she going to say that maybe she knows how Luz feels? How  _ does _ Luz feel about it? Is it possible she might like me back? Like doesn’t even begin to describe the way I feel about her but it would be good enough to me if she felt somewhat similar.  _

_ No, Luz is not very good at hiding her emotions. If she liked me back I would know. Would I? She’d probably tell me, she would probably tell the entire island.  _ Amity let her thoughts drag her away from the screen. She saw herself and Luz walking through town, Luz declaring her feelings loud enough for even the Titan to hear. 

It almost made Amity swoon, and she sighed softly through her nose.  _ It’s unlikely, I’ll have to wait for another opportunity to ask Willow what she meant. _

The movie ended and after the two other girls returned Luz’s phone and the plants to normal, the door opened again. Non-violently, but Luz and Willow hid behind the bed anyways. The chef walked in and set Amity’s dinner on her lap. 

“Thank you,” Amity said softly. The chef nodded and left without a word. Amity stared at the door. “They’re gone,” she whispered to Luz and Willow, who poked their head out. 

“Woah! Gourmet food!” Luz stared in awe, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the meal that had been prepared for Amity.

“Do you want it?” Amity offered. Not because she didn't want to eat it. It smelled beyond delicious. She offered because Luz looked so excited about it. The girl's eyes were  _ sparkling _ , even when she looked at Amity.

Luz didn’t answer immediately. Amity’s heart began to beat faster when she realized Luz was  _ staring _ at her. Eventually though, she shook her head gently and put her hand on Amity’s. “No, another time. You need nourishment so you can heal!” she insisted. “I brought more snacks anyways,” she went back over to her bag, pulling out little packages. 

Amity hummed. Her opportunity to question Willow further never came and the sun seemed to set without any of the girls being aware. 

They were all relaxing idly. Luz and Willow were talking about other events at Hexside that she should prepare for, while Amity calmly resumed reading the book she had  _ before _ Luz showed up. It wasn't long before she stopped reading and started daydreaming. She found herself daydreaming a lot these days. Specifically about Luz obviously. Obvious to  _ her _ , anyways.

She thought about how the night could have gone if Willow hadn't shown up. They could have finished reading and simply laid next to each other. Luz could have talked about whatever and Amity would just listen. And if the timing was right, maybe she could close the distance and let Luz know without saying a word. If she was lucky, Luz would only blush and smile and say what Amity could only dream of hearing.  _ "Amity. I-" _

"-think it's going to rain." Willow said. Amity blinked and looked out the window. Surely enough, the night sky was shrouded by dark gloomy clouds. The rain started almost immediately, each droplet hitting Amity's window with a comfortably steady rhythm. 

“Aw farts, Eda warned me about the rain.” Luz stared out the window. She took another bite of her snack bar and looked toward Willow and Amity. “She’ll kill me for sure when I get home.” She talked with her mouth full. 

“It’s okay, my parents rarely ever stay home during the night. You can sleep over.” Amity looked at them both. 

“Thank goodness,” Willow sighed, taking off her glasses to rub them clean. “I was getting sleepy.” she stood up and stretched. 

The plant witch left the room, explaining she wanted to freshen up before getting in bed. Which left Amity and Luz alone again. Though, Amity's focus was once again stuck on Willow. She wished she could get up and follow Willow, to shake the answers out of her, but she chewed her lip and sat in silence.

"How's your leg?" Luz asked suddenly, leaning on the bed. Amity stopped looking at the door and brought her attention to Luz. Her question didn't register in Amity’s head though. 

"What?" She blinked.

"Your leg?" Luz raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, well I mean." She rubbed her thumbs together, nervous by Luz’s concern. "I can barely feel it. I mean I can feel it but not the pain you know? It doesn't hurt nearly as much as when it first happened."

Luz hummed. "I bet. I'm glad you're okay though. School isn't the same without you."

Amity laughed nervously, looking at Luz’s gaze but the human didn't have any change in expression. She was just looking at Amity sincerely. Not moving an inch. Amity on the other hand, was growing more and more bashful. 

Amity could only guess what Luz might be thinking, but she didn't get a word out. Luz’s eyes drifted past her and Amity turned toward Willow, who had walked in and was now closing the door.

"Time for bed." She yawned and Luz got up. She crouched near her bag, reaching into it.

"There should be enough room for all of us," Amity spoke after seeing Luz start to pull out a blanket.  _ She's oddly prepared. _ "A-at least I know there's room for more than one."

Willow and Luz glanced at each other and Willow shrugged. Amity knew two could fit on the bed, but three might  _ probably _ be pushing it. The other two girls laid comfortably beside her. Willow to her right and Luz to her left.

Willow seemed to fall asleep quickly. Only mere minutes had passed and she could be heard breathing softly among the rain. Luz laid somewhat still though, still awake. She was playing with her thumbs and staring at Amity’s cast.

“A week and a half is really quick for a hurt leg. In my world, it would take months!” she said enthusiastically but quietly.

Amity smiled, looking off to the side and peeking at a sleeping Willow.  _ It was different when we were alone. But now Willow is here and she knows how I feel about Luz. I can't just be comfortable in this situation. _ “The healing glyphs are from some of the best healers on the island. They work wonders.” she replied. 

“You said until midnight? What happens at midnight?”

“Well, the cast was made by healers, it's infused with healing magic. When it hits midnight, the magic inside the cast will finish the rest of the healing process and just fade away sometime during the night. It’s nothing special, and usually some sleep through it.”

“Woah,” Luz whispered in awe. “That’s so cool!”

“I guess, it’s pretty standard here. It doesn't mean I'll be healed though. I just won't need the cast.”

“You have a lot of cool things here Amity! The Boiling Isles is far from my ideal fantasy world. Magical witches, magic school, odd weather, and yet so many cool and scary people! Not you, I mean you’re not scary  _ anymore _ . It’s just, so different from what I’m used to. Every second I spend here I learn something new and I’ve made  _ way _ more friends than I’ve ever had in my entire life! I wish I didn’t have to leave,”

“Leave?” Amity asked gently. The thought never crossed her mind that Luz someday just wouldn’t be around. The idea hurt her, as if it would leave her hollow. 

“Yeah, I gotta go back home someday. There are cool things at home, not nearly as awesome as here, but they’re still cool.”

“Like what?” 

Luz took a breath. “Well, there’s my mom.” her voice grew somber. “She’s the coolest, and I know she only wants the best for me. She is always there for me, even when I make a mess of everything, she loves me.” She laughed gently. “And there’s amusement parks, and different types of ice cream, and cool technology,”

Luz described her favorite things about her world. Amity listened quietly, staring at the human girl’s hand. Boldly, she reached over hesitantly. She wanted to hold Luz’s hand while she talked. Luz’s touch meant more to her than any other over affectionate gesture from her siblings ever could. Luz’s affection was genuine and untainted by ill intent. 

To her surprise, Luz’s hand met hers in the middle, and yet she still prattled on. Soon she moved to put an arm around Amity's shoulder. Amity couldn’t mask the flush on her face, but she did try to enjoy the moment. Her heart was thrumming loudly, but Luz was gently stroking the back of Amity’s hand with her thumb. It was enough to soothe her enough to sleep again in Luz’s company. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, Luz, are you okay?”
> 
> “Pssh! Yeah of course, I mean why wouldn’t I be?”
> 
> “...you’re acting different, that’s all.”

Amity was in a rush to get to school. Now that her leg was free of its cast, she had to make up for the work she missed. She almost tripped on her way out the door but made it to Hexide in good time. 

She saw Luz and her friends standing by the door, and she slowed her pace to not seem excited to see Luz after practically cuddling with her the night before. She greeted them gently, stopping in front of Luz, hoping she was seen as subtly stopping to talk with her friends. But every time Luz spoke, it ignited a new fire of admiration inside of Amity. It had kept her warm all the way to school.

“Hi Luz,” She said, hugging her books close to her chest. Luz looked almost nervous, and she leaned on the door. 

“Amity!” she leaned back and pointed at the witch. “Glad to see you see you up on your feet!”

Amity was surprised she didn’t get an overjoyed hug from Luz, taking note of how she had moved away  _ first _ . “Yeah,” she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thanks for coming over last night, you and Willow made my day much better,”

“Of course!” Luz said rather loudly. “I mean, I’m glad we made your day better.” She put on a wide smile and glanced to the side. “Okay bye!” she walked off awkwardly. 

Amity watched her leave curiously, and a little hurt. She brushed off the feeling though. She’d heard rumors about what Luz had been through.  _ She's probably just stressed _ . Amity waved to Gus and Willow and went on her way to class. 

Amity barely saw Luz outside a glimpse of her hair or uniform slipping out of view before she could look fully. Nor did she see her at lunch, or in their next class. Amity forced herself to stay focused instead of worry. She ended up seeing Luz at the end of the day anyways. 

“You missed class,” Amity tapped Luz on the shoulder. The human girl didn’t react much, she just turned around. “But I copied the notes for you,” she held out a notebook.

“Oh, thanks Amity. You didn’t have to,” Luz took hold of it, a little shocked.

“I know but, it’s the least I could do, since yesterday.”

“Ahaha!" Luz stood up stiffly. "Right! Yesterday. Uhm, you didn’t happen to hear anything last night, right?” she held the notebook up to her face.

“Uh, no? I was asleep. I woke up and you guys weren’t there.”

“Your siblings told us we had to leave before your parents got home. The storm had stopped so we didn’t really have a choice.” Luz shrugged, kicking her foot on the ground, avoiding Amity’s gaze. 

“I see.” Amity said softly.  _ This is so unlike her. Surely what happened wasn’t that bad, right? _ “Hey, Luz, are you okay?”

Luz glanced at her. “Pssh! Yeah of course, I mean why wouldn’t I be?”

“I- you’re acting different, that’s all.” She held her books close. 

“Ah,” she inhaled through her teeth, looking away. “Yeah, I’m peachy.” She pointed at Amity, leaning backwards. “I just, gotta get home and make sure Eda is okay.”

“Okay.” Amity didn’t pry. She knew when someone didn’t want to budge. Luz looked guilty for a moment, and sighed.

“I’ll tell you someday, okay? It’s just hard right now.” She gave a gentle smile and walked off without waiting for a response. 

Even though she said that, Luz made no effort to talk about anything  _ other _ than school. When Amity was around, Luz would act secluded, keeping her hands to herself. She hugged Willow and Gus and Eda, even one of the teachers, but she hasn’t so much as laid a hand on Amity since the night her cast came off.

_ It couldn’t be the stress… Luz seems fine when talking about it. She even brought up how she chipped the Emperor’s mask. No sign of stress there. Is it me? Did Willow tell her about the crush? _

Amity’s suspicions seemed confirmed when she sat in her hideout and Luz didn’t show up. When at school, Willow seemed to have some sort of, knowing look when Amity and Luz interacted. Amity gave her a questioning glare, but Willow never said a word. Luz got more frantic for escapes and had plenty of excuses as to why she was missing the book club. Amity was growing frustrated. Instead of waiting for Luz to show up, she walked out of the hideout. It had been a week and Luz was getting more and more distant. 

_ I messed up. I never should have told Willow! But… Willow wouldn’t spill a secret. Maybe Luz just overheard? She’s not the brightest but after time she can figure things out. Maybe she’s trying to let me down easy. _ Amity grunted. Her heart ached.  _ I’ll make it easy for her. _

Amity wanted to give Luz a few more chances to come clean. She tried asking subtle questions but Luz never answered straight out. She would always bring up something else. Saying she had school work to do or she wanted to practice her glyphs. 

She even told Amity that she had made plans with Willow and Gus, but Amity had seen the two multiple times on their own the same day.  _ No sign of Luz _ .  _ Again... _

It was the final straw for Amity. She didn’t appreciate being lied to. She held her head high and went home. She knew when she wasn’t wanted, even if knowing that hurt.

Two weeks had passed since her cast came off and Luz started acting differently around her. Nothing but excuses and lies from the girl. Amity now sat in her hideout, fighting with her emotions. She leaned over her desk and held her hands over her head. Part of her was ready to easily forgive Luz, but the part of her that was so used to being alone was set in its decision to keep her distance. Tears dripped from her face as she trembled. 

She was used to being alone, she didn’t understand why this was so painful. 

_ Blights don’t cry _ . She tried to calm down.  _ Blights don't cry. Stop crying.  _

She hiccupped, the tears falling faster. Impulsively she took her hair out. She wiped at her eyes, struggling to keep her tears silent but a sob tried to break free with every inch of resistance. “ _ Stop _ crying,” she pleaded with herself, her voice wavering and cracking. “Stop crying Amity, it’s not worth it.” she let her head fall into her arms.

_ Who cares if Luz doesn’t accept your feelings? She probably thinks you’re weird anyways. She probably hates you for falling for her so stupidly. You don’t even know her. Blights only mingle with the best anyways… _

Amity let her head slip closer toward the desk. 

_ And she was the  _ best _. _ She sniffled.  _ She was the absolute best. No one was like her. No one could replace  _ her _ , but Blights are all the same. Prideful and cold.  _

_ It’s not her fault, it’s mine. _

Hours passed and Amity sat in silence. All out of tears, out of energy. Laying her head on her arms, she stared at her bookshelf but said nothing. She had a dull headache from crying, but she stopped a while ago. Nothing but dried tear stains on her face and on her desk left to hint that she’d been crying at all. She had decided that she would give Luz the distance she was desperately trying to keep. Even if it ate away at her. Amity wanted to be angry, that she felt once again somewhat betrayed by Luz.  _ Are all humans this indecisive? _

She said they were friends but randomly switched and became reclusive. Similar to how Amity would keep her thoughts to herself when around Boscha and Skara. Inhaling, Amity pulled herself together and got up. She put her hair back up, rubbed her face, and summoned her scroll to make sure no one could tell just how much of her feelings she let out when she left. At that, she put on a blank, uncaring gaze. Her walls would need to come back up. So what?  _ Two steps backwards.  _ She put her scroll away. 

_ Not as if I took any steps forward. Luz would get close to me, not the other way around. _

Even after her past actions, Amity couldn’t hate Luz. Her heart still gave a wild flutter when she saw the girl in the hall, or whenever Luz had called out to her. Her face flushed just as it used to. There was no hiding her natural reaction to Luz’s presence. There was even a pang of guilt when she saw her disheartened face. Amity clutched her cowl over her chest. 

_ No. This is what she wanted, this is what she’ll get _ . Amity took a breath and kept walking to class. She didn’t make contact with anyone. No one outside of teachers. She kept her time in the hallways short and didn’t show up to lunch. Especially not after she saw Luz waiting at the door to the cafeteria. She ate outside, hidden away from any other student. 

She kept the walls up for days, not even bothering to entertain her siblings, who started to grow worried. She didn’t say much, and it was starting to weigh on her. She’d grown used to being dragged into pointless conversations and Luz’s gestures of excitement of the smallest things. 

Sitting on her windowsill, Amity sighed. Glancing to her bed she saw the Azura book on her nightstand. They’d never finished reading it. She might as well return it so she didn’t have anything in her room to make her more regretful than she already was. She put on shoes, grabbed her bag, and put the book inside. On her way out the door, she thought sourly that she didn’t want to actually see Luz. The girl’s sad face would break all of Amity’s walls down within seconds and she’d apologize even if it wasn’t her place to. 

“I’ll just leave it in the library.” she muttered to herself, holding onto her bag and changing her direction from the Owl House to the library. 

Her walk was quiet except for the sounds of the island. Shady figures travelled in the night and the wildlife was making whatever noise they were making. It was peaceful. 

_ Too peaceful _ . Amity thought bitterly. And just as she suspected, the storm arrived. Luz was sitting on the library steps. Her head down, visibly sulking. The human girl lifted her head after Amity took a step too close. “Amity!” she stood up. Amity clenched her fists and turned around. “Amity wait!” Luz called again, and Amity heard the girl stumble on her way down the steps but she only walked faster. 

Luz stopped following after Amity had turned the corner. The witch held her face in her hand.  _ Why, Luz? Why tonight of all nights are you in my way? _ She groaned. Amity rubbed her face and turned back around, taking a different route to the library. She stayed hidden this time. Luz was still there. Amity hummed, and drew a circle in the air. A small abomination appeared on the other side of the library steps, running into the forest. Luz perked up and gave chase, probably thinking it would lead to Amity. Either way, she was off the steps. 

Amity hurried up the stairs and inside, opening her hideout door and stepping inside. She left the book on desk, assured Luz would come in here on her own eventually. As she left, she saw Luz coming back to the steps, since she captured the little abomination that had merely been a distraction. 

Amity tried to walk past without catching Luz’s attention but it was a futile attempt. 

“Amity! Please wait!” Luz cried out, but Amity broke into a run. She ducked away from the town and took a detour into the woods. She thought she’d gotten away from her, but Luz was right on her tail. Amity wasn’t built for running through the forest, but she had some athletic ability left to maneuver well enough. The only tricky part was she didn’t know where she was going. Before she knew it, she’d slipped in something that sent her face first into a shallow divot in the ground. Mud barely splashed around when she landed. She only had enough time to turn around before Luz came into view. The human also tripped and fell onto Amity. 

Amity growled in annoyance. “Get off me!” She tried to free herself but Luz had sat down on her, holding her wrists to the ground.

The clouds shifted and the moon shone down on them both. Amity’s solid and upset glare melted when she saw Luz was about to cry. “I’m sorry for whatever I did, Amity! Please stop avoiding everyone. We miss you,  _ I _ miss you,”

“Luz,” Amity grunted, disgusted by the mud but flustered by their proximity. 

“I know I lied to you and I was dodgy but I just, I didn’t want to lose you as a friend.”

_ There it is. _ Amity’s concern was masked by a layer of petty anger. “Get. Off.”

“No! Please, Amity. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for lying to me?” Amity snapped. “Why can’t you just say you don’t want to hang out with me anymore Luz? Why can’t you be upfront with me!”

“It’s hard,” Luz whispered. It made a large crack in Amity’s wall.

The witch paused before coming up with a response. “Whatever. If you want to avoid me then I’ll give you your space,” she glared at Luz. Luz’s expression only saddened further. “I don’t know what you want from me Luz, but I-”

“I’m sorry!” Luz insisted. “I didn’t mean to hurt you… I’ve just… I’ve been confused. I thought that I was being too pushy. You always seem nervous around me and I thought if I backed off, you would be more comfortable.”

“Back off so much you stop coming to the club meetings that  _ you _ so desperately wanted?” Amity stopped looking at Luz, not wanting to see the tears fall from the other girl’s face, but it was hard to ignore. They fell right onto Amity’s neck, and Luz didn’t say anything else. She let go of Amity’s wrists to wipe her eyes. Unlike Amity, Luz wasn’t held to a standard where she wasn’t allowed to cry. It broke Amity’s heart. 

She sat up, and hesitantly, she pulled one of Luz’s hands away. After wiping her hands on her tunic, she wiped away one of the human’s tears. “I didn’t want to push you away.” Luz admitted, her voice low. 

Amity didn’t want to believe Luz could ever be sad, let alone  _ cry _ . It took a lot to be able to cry in front of someone. Even for Amity’s old friends, they didn't dare once shed a tear in front of anyone. 

Amity didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what she  _ could _ say. Luz took hold of her hand, holding it to her chest. 

“The night your cast came off… You looked so peaceful sleeping. I said something, and I felt something.” she muttered. Amity could feel Luz’s heartbeat, different than hers but it grew faster as she spoke. “I thought that if you found out, I would lose you as a friend, and we’ve gotten so close already. I love Willow and Gus but I don’t spend time with one and not the other. Our friendship is different, and I don’t want to lose it. We may not be best friends but I like what we have. Don’t you?” She looked at Amity, vulnerable and begging for something.

Amity’s voice caught in her throat.  _ Can you fall in love with someone you used to hate… but Luz has never hated me before. That’s why she doesn’t understand.  _

“Please Amity.” Luz whispered again. 

Amity sighed. “I don’t want to lose what we have either. But I wasn’t uncomfortable. You’re affectionate and I’m getting used to it. Don’t change to please someone else, Luz. I thought you were trying to…” she paused, biting her lip momentarily. “Trying to cut me off,” she muttered. 

“Never!” Luz leaned forward, looking hurt that Amity even imagined it.

“I didn’t want to get in your way, so I just did what I thought you wanted.”

“Never never never will I want you to avoid me! O-or stop hanging out with me! I love having you around, we love having you around. You’re not cold like Boscha, or mean or anything. I just want to get to know you better,” 

Amity’s heart stopped beating for a moment.  _ What are you saying Luz? _ She thought, swallowing hard. 

“I wanna keep what we have.”

_ Oh.  _ “Thank you, Luz, but,” Amity got to her feet, “It’s not that easy.” she crossed her arms. “I know you meant well but it hurt. You lied to me.  _ Repeatedly _ .” Amity emphasized. “I can’t forgive you so easily,”  _ I can but I won’t. _ She kept the thought to herself. 

“I’ll make it up to you! I promise! No more lying, no more excuses!” Luz held her hands to her chest and stood up. “I’ll be honest with you from now on.”

Amity only stared at her.  _ It’s a start. _ “Alright, but let me adjust on my own, okay?”

Luz nodded quickly. Amity took a step toward her and held Luz’s face in her hands. Luz’s cheeks were warm against Amity’s hands, but the witch only wiped the remaining tears from Luz’s eyes. 

“Just be Luz.”  _ The Luz I fell for, _ “Just, Luz the Human, okay?”

“Okay.” She smiled, pulling Amity into a tight hug. Amity was unprepared, but she patted Luz on the back, forcing the heat from her face. When Luz let her go, her hand lingered in Amity’s. “And we’re still friends?”

Amity nodded and pulled her hand back. She rested her hand on Luz’s shoulder for a moment and walked off out of the woods until she was in a familiar place. Once out of the shade of the trees, she realized she was filthy. Falling in the mud was one thing, but since Luz had held her down, it had dried onto her clothes and stuck to her skin and hair. 

_ Eugh. _ She sneered in disgust. At least she had a shower at home. 

She realized she felt a lot better than when she left. At least emotionally. Walking home, she reflected on the events. She felt guilty that Luz had cried in front of her and  _ because  _ of her. It almost made her nauseous. She didn’t want to hurt Luz, but the girl was prone to misunderstandings just as Amity was prone to being emotionally reckless. 

After washing off the filth of the mud and bad energy she had, Amity laid in bed, still feeling somewhat hollow. She made an effort to not be as closed off, but it took a while. She warmed up a little, day after day, until one night, someone was making a racket outside of her window. Amity got out of bed, rubbing her eyes to look outside.

She pressed her face against the window when she realized who was out there.

“Luz!” She exclaimed, opening the window and leaning out to peek. 

“Amity!” Luz jumped, “Do you wanna hang out?”

Amity face palmed, and drew a spell circle. She stepped back from the window and soon Luz was let inside thanks to the abomination arm she’d created. “Luz,  _ what _ are you doing here? It’s almost midnight!”

“I realized we never talked about cosplaying as Azura characters!” Luz jumped toward Amity, holding onto her shoulders with a wide smile on her face.

_ Is now really the time? _ Amity stared unbelieving at her. "My parents are home on some sort of vacation, they  _ cannot _ know you’re here.”

“Why not?”

“Because they’d kill me!” Amity hissed. “We’re friends but to my parents, if they don’t work with  _ your _ parents,  _ and _ you don’t know that much magic, then we can’t hang out.” she explained. Amity’s ear twitched as she heard footsteps approaching. 

“Oh my gosh did your ears just twitch!” Luz exclaimed in excitement. Amity blushed for a moment, but started shoving Luz toward her closet. “That’s  _ so _ cute! I wish my ears twitched. Do they always do that?” she asked when Amity pushed her inside. 

“Stay quiet.” she closed the door and hurried into her bed, facing the window and pretending to be asleep as her door opened. Footsteps walked in, ones she recognized as her mother’s, but she forced her breathing to stay slow and light. The seconds dragged on. She knew her mother was staring at her, but the woman left without another word. The door closed and she heard her walk away. But she didn’t jump out of bed just yet. She waited, and waited, until she was sure her mother was far away before getting out of bed and opening her closet door. Luz was holding a small book, which Amity knew was full of her childhood memories. 

She took the book from Luz, who laughed nervously. “I guess this means I’m in the closet huh?” she joked. When Amity only stared at her, Luz deflated a little.

Amity sighed and pulled Luz over to sit behind her bed, out of view from anyone else that would come out. 

“Can we look at the pictures?” Luz asked. “I wanna see baby Amity!”

“Only if you stay quiet!” Amity whispered, opening the scrapbook, Luz leaned into Amity, eager to point at the pictures and react “aww” when appropriate. 

“You haven’t changed a bit!” Luz said excitedly but quietly.

“What do you mean?” 

“You’re so little!”

“I’m still growing,” Amity murmured, feeling a smidge of heat on her face.

“Barely.” Luz side eyed her mischievously. “I mean that kindly but you’re so little, its adorable.” She looked Amity in the eye. Both girls had to take a moment. Amity very briefly glanced at Luz’s lips before clearing her throat and turning back to the book. 

“I’ll be taller soon. You’ll see,”

“I bet.” Luz whispered. They continued to flip through the pages, until Luz stopped her, and put her face into the book. “Oh my gosh! That’s Eda and Lilith!” she gasped. “Your parents-”

Amity covered Luz’s mouth immediately. She peeked over the bed and sat back down. “Yes, my parents knew Eda and Lilith, they went to school together, and they stayed in touch up until my third birthday. I’m not sure what happened, but they don’t like to talk about the Clawthorne sisters.”

Luz hummed, and patted her hands together. Amity stared at the picture before closing the book. She turned to Luz. 

“What… what happened? I saw Eda’s near petrification on the news, I saw the whole thing, but tell me what happened. I wish I could have been there, but my leg.”

“Tell you what happened?”

“Lilith is no longer my mentor. I want to know why.”

Luz inhaled and whistled. “It’s a  _ long _ story.”

“I have all night.” Amity faced Luz completely.


	5. Chapter 5

Amity sat patiently, waiting for Luz to begin her story of the events at the Emperor’s castle. Luz seemed to be hesitating.

_ Probably to get her story straight.  _ Amity assumed. The human girl was playing with the hem of her shirt and avoiding Amity’s eyes.

“Well… Lilith cursed Eda when they were younger. It turned Eda into an owl beast that would take away her magic. She did it so she was guaranteed a spot in the Emperor’s Coven,” Luz explained. “Up until now, Lilith was trying to capture Eda and enlist her in the Emperor’s Coven because Emperor Belos said he would  _ heal _ Eda. You’ll never guess what the lie was.”

“And she was captured.” Amity whispered. Luz nodded slowly, obviously holding back tears.

“It was scary, watching Eda turn into the beast while I was powerless to stop it.” Luz gripped the edge of her shorts. “I couldn’t save her, I was just a pawn in Lilith’s game, but I went back to rescue Eda. I learned that Lilith hadn’t meant to curse Eda for long. Just long enough to win. Belos had intended to capture and petrify Eda forever. Lilith and King got captured, and I faced off with Belos.” Luz lifted her head again, some sort of determined blaze in her eyes. 

Amity was taken aback. Luz looked so intense and driven for a moment, as if she was reliving the day all over again.

“I fought Belos personally, and it was hard and  _ terrifying _ . I could barely keep up, but I outsmarted him for a little bit. He had me held down at that point with whatever weird… veiny creature he controlled that lived under his castle.” Luz shivered. “He said he wanted the portal I came through,”

“Portal?” Amity asked. 

Luz nodded, starting to tear up again. It seemed as if she left this part out of her retellings to other students. “I had to give it to him, to save Eda. But I couldn’t just let him have it.” Tears started falling down her face.  _ Oh dear. _ “I destroyed the portal. I lost my only way home.” her voice cracked. Luz was shaking, crying more. “And it’s… it’s scary. I don’t know how I’ll get back home to see my mom again.” she whimpered. 

Amity blinked, feeling sympathetic. She would possibly never know what it would feel like to need or miss her mother the way Luz cared for hers. All she did know was that Luz was hurting and scared. She leaned forward and pulled the girl into a soft embrace. Luz returned it with double the force. She almost knocked Amity over, sniffling into her shoulder, muttering something in her language. Amity softly rubbed her back sympathetically, the way her siblings would whenever she went to them crying. When she  _ used  _ to. “I’m so sorry Luz.”

Luz didn’t reply. She seemed more interested in forgetting the ordeal. She hugged Amity tighter, and Amity gave in and squeezed back with the same amount of emotion. There wasn't much to do besides comfort Luz at this point. The nightmare was over. 

_ It must have been traumatic. Lilith betraying the Emperor, Eda getting captured, losing her only way home. _ Amity hoped she could do something to ease the pain. Reluctantly, she eased Luz out of the hug. “I shouldn’t have asked. I wonder who will take her place…”

Luz rubbed her eye. “Oh, I thought you knew that already?”

“Knew what?”

“Your mother is taking her place.”

Amity froze. “My mother…”

“Odalia Blight?" 

Amity's nerves fizzled.

"Is that… Is that bad?” Luz asked nervously.

“It’s awful!” Amity said quickly. “My mother was on the oracle track, and being  _ my  _ mother she’ll be a force to be reckoned with when teaching me.” Amity stood up, unable to contain the anxiety crawling over her skin.

“What does that mean?” Luz also got up. Both girls jumped back in fear when Amity’s door swung open wildly and hit the wall. Amity was sure her heart gave out and fell to her feet.

“It  _ means _ ,” Her mother stood in her doorway. “That Amity will be supervised  _ properly _ by someone  _ loyal _ to Emperor Belos.” she glared at the both of them. Snapping her fingers, a pale red abomination stepped into the room, surely of her husband's creation. It walked toward them both, and reached for Luz. Both girls clung to each other desperately, but the abomination took Luz right from Amity’s grasp. “No more hanging around the Owl Lady’s pet human.” 

Luz, being the wild spirited girl she was, easily broke free from the abomination. She ran down the hall in a frenzy. Amity could hear her shouting and laying down glyphs to protect herself. She wanted to help Luz, but her mother stepped into the room more. 

“You’ve been protecting a criminal.” her tone sounded threatening.

“N-no.” Amity stuttered. She heard Luz cry out in pain outside and it made her tense, but her mother didn’t give her much of an opening to run. Amity couldn’t hesitate any longer. She jumped over her bed and pushed past her mother. She ran out the door, almost running into her siblings who had come to see the commotion. 

Amity hurried and used her abomination to clumsily launch herself down the hallway to Luz’s captors. Her father was behind it, as expected, but Luz was completely captured. With a reckless battle cry, she used her magic to send multiple abominations to fight her father’s. Luz escaped and Amity's father was distracted. Amity used the opportunity and hurried to Luz’s side and helped her stand, but she seemed dazed. The human girl was holding her side and seemed out of breath. 

Amity summoned another abomination to carry Luz as she ran with them both to the door. Her mother slid in front of her, ready to stop them, when a blue rope wound around her and tied her up. Amity looked back to see Edric standing on the balcony, using his magic to trap their own mother while Emira stood in shock. 

“Go!” he shouted. Her mother was pulled out of the way, and Amity hurried Luz out the door. She wanted to make sure Luz got home safe, but she trusted her abomination enough to close the door once both of them were outside. 

She turned around, there stood her parents. Both of them towering over her. Furious, her mother grabbed her arm tightly and dragged her away from the door. “You’re neck deep in trouble.” her mother growled. 

She was scolded for an hour. She was forced to sit at the dining room table, and she kept her head down and her hands folded. Her mother said that she had a week before she would be under her further supervision and teachings, but she was ultimately forbidden to go anywhere near the Owl House or the “degenerates” that lived there.  _ Especially _ the  _ human _ . The word was meant as an insult, as if she had something against Luz personally. Amity found herself offended that her mother saw Luz as less than them. 

_ But that's how it is when you're a  _ Blight _. Everyone is below you, the only equals being your blood relatives. Obedience to the Emperor is top priority. _

"Amity, are you listening?" Her mother spoke brusquely, her hands landing firm on the table.

Amity sat up straight and nodded, but she wasn't. "Yes, Mother." 

Her siblings had tried to defend her, but they were punished as well. Not for the outburst but for their actions when Luz was still inside. 

Both of them were grounded. Emira for a week and Edric for two. Amity knew they would use their magic to get around it, they always have. Unluckily for herself, Amity had no illusion magic to make her punishment easier. She held her tongue and listened to each insult of herself and Luz and her family. 

“I should have known that after the situation with Ms. Park, you’d have trouble getting rid of these so-called ‘friends’ of yours on your own.” Her mother spoke with her back turned to Amity. She half turned her head and fixed a cold glare on her daughter. “But the Owl Lady’s  _ human _ ? Amity do you have  _ any _ idea what that does for your reputation? What it does for  _ mine _ ? Hanging around with the very thing that the Owl Lady has brought upon us? She’s caused trouble with the Emperor. If you continue to fraternize with her, you’ll  _ never _ get accepted into the Emperor’s Coven!”

Amity didn’t make a sound. She couldn’t think of much besides hoping Luz was okay. Her mother turned around then, walking toward her. The sound of her heels on the floor made Amity's skin prick with anxiety.

“How did she even get in here? Into your  _ bedroom _ no less!”

Amity shrugged. She started to slouch if only to hide herself.

“Don’t lie to  _ me _ , Amity. How did the human get in here?” she repeated the question more intensely. After a moment of silence, she shouted again. “Amity!”

“My window.” Amity whispered. “I used my magic to lift her up to my room.” she admitted.

“You…  _ let _ her in?”

“She’s my friend!”

“Quiet!” 

Amity gripped her pajamas in frustration. Her mother rubbed her forehead, as if stressed. 

“What are we going to do with you Amity? Your brother and sister are near delinquents. You were supposed to be the one that came out right.” Her mother sounded exhausted. “What happened to you?” she asked. Amity knew her mother didn’t want a reply. “I guess we’ll just put you under constant supervision.”

Amity lifted her head in disbelief. “No!” she protested desperately.

“ _ Don’t _ argue! Lilith’s betrayal probably tainted your decision making. I’m doing what’s best for you, Amity. There’s no point in fighting it.” her mother began walking toward her. “Starting two days from now, you’ll be under constant watch. Supervised in school. And in any situation where you step foot outside of this house, you’ll have escorts. I’ll also have a magic barrier put up in your room. Until then, you’re grounded just like your brother and sister. Maybe it will  _ remind _ you to be obedient.” 

Her mother left no room to argue before leaving the room. Amity was furious, but she knew she had time. She had to warn Luz. Assuming her parents were satisfied with her punishment, she went up to her room, put on her casual outfit, and left the Blight Manor silently. 

She wasted no time rushing to the Owl House. Her concern for Luz fueled her urgency to get to see the human girl. Thankfully Luz was outside, standing just in front of the door. She was twiddling her fingers in apprehension, as if waiting for something. Amity noticed that her abomination was reduced to mush on the ground but at least Luz was alive.

“Amity!” Luz smiled widely and ran toward Amity. Both girls wrapped their arms around each other and squeezed tightly in an overjoyed embrace. 

“I'm glad you're okay.” Amity sighed into Luz's shoulder. “But I’ve got bad news.”

Luz let go and looked at her with a twinge of concern. Her expression was so innocent, Amity wanted to hate her mother for her decision. Well, hate her  _ more _ .

“My mother is going to make sure that I’m under constant supervision. I’m going to have ‘escorts’ follow me around in school and any time I leave the house. And she’s going to make sure I can’t use magic inside my room, so I can’t let you in through my window anymore.”

Luz held her chin in thought and tapped her foot on the ground. Amity didn't know very much about Luz's planning process, but she  _ did _ know that Luz would do absolutely anything to help someone. Even if its reckless. Amity could only feel a little helpless. It had been a long time since her mother had been angry at her and it was clouding her train of thought. Suddenly Luz stood up straight, pointing up with a wide smile on her face. “If we can’t hang out at your house, let's just hang out outside!”

“My parents would surely have my head if I tried to go against their wishes.” Amity muttered.

“Don’t worry about those silly old geese! We can just,” Luz looked around, thinking. “We can hang out at  _ night _ ! It’ll be so fun! I’ve  _ always _ wanted to take night walks with a… a uh, ahem a friend.” she put her hands together. “And we can be mostly alone and just talk and share stories and-”

“I- how? I won’t be able to leave the house without someone watching over me.”

“Ask your siblings!” Luz grabbed Amity’s hands. “I know they’d be willing to help you out! Besides, it’s so unfair!”

“I don’t know. They’re already in enough trouble for helping me help you get out.” 

“If I know Edric and Emira, and I  _ barely do _ , they’re crafty! You all are! You’ll find a way around it. Besides, if not, I can just-”

“No, Luz. I don’t want you putting yourself in danger anymore. Not when it comes to me.”

“But,”

“I’ll talk to Ed and Em. I’ve got two days of 'freedom' before the whole thing is put in place anyways.”

Luz smiled widely. “Let’s go right now!” she let go of one of Amity’s hands and pulled her toward the town. Amity didn’t dare protest, she would rather be here with Luz than at home anyways. 

Luz pulled them both all over town. The Night Market wasn’t up yet, so it was just them. Luz was talking up a storm, making Amity laugh a lot more than she did any other time. Luz looked at her softly and tightened her grip on Amity’s hand. Amity didn’t resist the blush, but she did glance away.

“This is nice.” she commented softly. The warmth of Luz’s hand was sending the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy. 

“Isn’t it?” Luz sighed dreamily. “My mom would never let me walk around a night. It was dangerous and I had no one to go with, not to mention I had to go to school the next morning usually.”

“Dangerous? I thought the human realm was more tame than ours?”

“Yeah it is, but some humans are  _ cruel _ .” Luz kicked at the ground, sending a few pebbles away from their resting place. “They’ll hurt you for no reason, some going as far as kidnapping or murder.” 

“Ah,”  _ I didn’t know humans were capable of that. _

“I like it here better though! Far less cruel people than I’m used to. Well, the cruel people here are all adults compared to high school jerks.”

Amity didn't say anything, but Luz saw the genuine concern in her gaze. 

Luz inhaled through her teeth. “I mean,  _ yeah, _ I would get picked on for being  _ weird _ , or  _ distractible _ . Kids thought it was funny to write things on my locker, take my books. Usual bully things.” she shrugged and looked off to the side. “But they made me stronger!” she declared, raising a fist. The slight falter in her voice didn’t make Amity believe her, but she smiled anyways.

“Of course they did.” She remarked with a snicker.

“Uh, heck yeah they did! I’m a bad girl now! Temporarily in Eda’s Bad Girl Coven.” Luz rubbed her knuckles on her shirt as if she was bragging. “And I’m the best human witch on the Boiling Isles right now! I say that makes me pretty strong.” 

Amity laughed. Not with any ill intent, but Luz was prone to putting on a small act. It was undeniably adorable. “Absolutely.”

“And you’re super strong too!” Luz stepped in front of Amity, grabbing her shoulders. “Your magic has been improving so much! And so have your drawing skills,” she smirked. 

“Pfft,” Amity looked away, only for Luz to step into her line of sight again. She took hold of Amity’s hand boldly. 

“We can be like Hecate and Azura! Powerful witches against all odds! Speaking of,” Luz turned around, and pulled something out of her bag.

Amity gasped. “Is that?”

“Yep! I had Eda help me make it! An actual Azura hat for when we cosplay. I figured we could both be Azura but I only have one right now, so I want you to have it.” Luz handed it to her, smiling sweetly, Amity took hold of it, a smile that was formed by amazement and not a silly crush. She brushed her finger over it. It was silky smooth as if it was authentic. “I was going to put my Grom tiara on it, but King tries to bite me whenever I try to grab it, so I made one out of cheap metal I got from Eda.” Luz was standing with her hands behind her, looking rather proud.

“Luz this is,” Amity began, but she looked up suddenly. She grabbed Luz’s hand. “We have to hide.”

“Why?”

Amity didn’t answer. She squeezed Luz into a tight alley and joined her quietly. Peering out from the shadows they hid in, she didn't see much. But when she turned her head she spotted her father and some guards.

“Find her. She knows better than to wander around at night. If she’s alone, bring her home. Take anyone with her to the Conformitorium.” he ordered.

Amity held her breath. They  _ were _ looking for her. She turned to Luz, giving her back the hat. “I want to keep this, so keep it safe for me until my mother calls off my supervisors okay?”

“Okay.” Luz said, folding the hat and putting it back in her bag. “What’s going on?”

“My family sent out guards to look for me.”

“Are you gonna let them find you?” Luz looked worried. Amity hesitated.  _ That was the original plan… but I can’t leave her alone. Not this time. _

“No.” Amity said firmly. “We’re gonna give them a run for their money.” She held her hand out. Luz took it eagerly. 

“I love running from the guards!” She squealed just before Amity pulled her out of the alley. The guards spotted them almost immediately, shouting at them to stop. But they were running downhill. Amity had only thought to keep running, but Luz pulled out one of her glyphs, and jumped to grab something. What sounded like a chain breaking sounded in Amity’s ears. Luz had stuck the glyph onto what appeared to be some kind of large wooden sign. Amity was surprised that it came off so easily. The glyph froze it solid on one side. Luz jumped onto it, pulling Amity along, and they slid down the hill faster and faster.

Luz let out a wild howl of excitement, sitting in front to steer, throwing down plant glyphs to push them out of harm's way, and even to build a ramp in a dead end. 

Amity’s screaming was more out of fear while she hung onto Luz, but the experience was exciting. Luz held a tight grip on the makeshift sled as they flew over a building. They landed hard. Some of the ice broke and the sign swerved them off the cliff edge into the forest below. Amity barely summoned an abomination hand quick enough to stop them both from free falling.

It only slowed their descent, as they crashed right through one of its fingers. Landing on the ground, they tumbled and rolled deeper into the woods. They finally slid to a halt on the forest floor, taking a moment to sit up off the ground and look at each other. They were out of breath and covered in dirt and scrapes, but after a moment they smiled and stood up. For once, Amity initiated the hug, elated. 

She’d  _ never  _ had that much fun! Nor has she ever run from the guards! She couldn’t contain her laughter as she hugged Luz, the other girl hugging her back tightly and picking her up. The both of them only laughed louder as Luz spun Amity around briefly before setting her down and staring at her.

They were a mess. Amity was scarcely aware of the wild state her hair was in, but she took a moment to fix Luz’s while looking at her tenderly. She couldn’t read Luz’s expression exactly, but with a single hand on Luz’s cheek, she started to stand on her toes and lean forward. She felt Luz’s breath on her lips, and Luz’s hands still rested wrapped around her lower back. Her eyes were beginning to flutter shut, and her heart was racing uncontrollably.

“Luz?” Someone called into the darkness. 

Amity was disappointed as Luz turned away toward the sound of the other voice. She wanted to go for the kill and just kiss Luz then and there before they were seen, but she let go instead. A gentle light was coming toward them, and soon they were in sight. 

“Eda!” Luz exclaimed, running to her mentor. “Oh my gosh Eda! You’ll never guess what happened tonight!”

“You’d better tell me. I spend a day away and you’re covered in cuts and bruises!” Eda ruffled Luz’s hair. There was concern in her voice, but she was smiling fondly at Luz. She glanced up and looked at Amity after Luz hugged Eda eagerly. “What about you, kid?”

“Me?” Amity pointed to herself. “Oh well I was just, you know, I, uhm…”

“We were running from the guards!” Luz explained, bounding on her toes. 

“Oh really now?” Eda raised an eyebrow.

Luz nodded and pulled on Eda’s arm some. “Since Amity’s mother is replacing Lilith as head of the Emperor’s Coven and as Amity’s mentor, she was  _ sooo _ angry that Amity was lying to her and snuck me in! She’s gonna put Amity under  _ constant _ surveillance with escorts and everything!” She stepped back and raised her arms dramatically. “She helped me get away from her parents and escape the Blight manor but she came here to tell me and then we went for a walk and told stories, but we found out that they’re looking for her right now! They’re going as far as sending anyone with her to the Conformitorium!”

“Relax, Luz.” Eda put a hand on Luz’s shoulder. “You’re on the run?”

“Just for the night.” Amity shrugged.

“Well, I can take you home. After I get you at least somewhat fixed up.”

“But my parents,”

“Pssh, don’t worry kid. I’ve broken into Blight manor more times than years you’ve been alive.”

Amity blinked at Eda. That statement did  _ not _ comfort her.  _ Is that why Luz is so bold about breaking and entering? Would the Owl Lady ever try it again? _

She didn’t have time to think much about it when Luz tugged on her sleeve to have her sit on Eda’s staff and fly out of the forest. She wasn’t used to flying, so she clung to the staff like a scared cat. Luz let out a small chuckle, and hung on to the staff with her hands in front of Amity’s. She didn’t make any comments, but it was just another moment where Amity wasn’t prepared for Luz to be so close. 

They landed at the Owl House, where Amity had been many times before. The house was always daunting as she approached. It felt cozier yet more ominous than her own house. Eda set her staff off to the side of the door and walked off. 

Luz giggled and Amity turned toward her. 

“Wasn’t that so exciting!” She bounced. “I’ve done stuff like that with Eda and Willow and Gus, but ever since the library and the Knee we haven’t done anything so thrilling!”

Amity chuckled. “I don’t know if I want to make a habit of running from guards.” She rubbed the back of her neck.

“That’s fine, we can get into different types of trouble.” Luz waved a hand dismissively before pulling both up to her face and gasping. “But until then I can tell you all about the adventures I  _ did _ go on!”

Amity blinked, smiling but confused.

“We should have oversleeps! I mean, we should have sleepovers!” the human girl bounced on her toes. “We can pull pranks and take pictures and dress up and paint each other's nails and so much more! It could be so fun!”

Amity laughed gently, raising her eyebrows. Luz was beyond excited to bring up the idea. But since Amity didn’t already bounce with joy, instead only standing with a small smile, Luz cleared her throat and relaxed. 

“O-or we could just put a pin in that one.” she smiled sheepishly. “The night walks are just enough fun for me.”

Amity nodded.  _ A sleepover with just you and Luz? You can’t agree to that. It would be dangerous for Luz, and for the Owl Lady. But we would be alone… No! Don’t think like that, especially when you’re settling for being friends with her. Argh! But you almost kissed her earlier! Who knows what kind of opportunities could come from sleepovers. _

The thought seemed to be an epiphany for the green haired girl.  _ The opportunities. We could get closer… _ Amity began daydreaming about the possibilities. Each scenario flew by quickly but each of them ended with an “inevitable” kiss that seemed too fairy-tale-esque to be realistic. 

“I’ll think about it, because of the whole situation now. Maybe after?” Amity half shrugged.  _ Should have just said yes you idiot _ . Her thoughts chided her, but Luz was happy with her answer. 

“Yes! It’ll be so much fun!”


	6. Chapter 6

Amity trudged through the halls at school. Her escorts were none other than Emperor lackeys. They both held a staff and made sure everyone kept their distance and did not initiate conversation. Except for the teachers. 

Principal Bump tried to assure them that Amity would not cause any trouble while at school, but they responded by showing him a scroll that had their orders written onto it. He sighed and shrugged, walking away. Amity was slightly grateful for his attempt, but she was going to be  _ forced _ into isolation this time, and it wouldn’t be out of her fear of her emotional safety.

Things felt normal enough, outside of the goons standing by her side every second of the day. They didn’t follow her into class nor into the bathroom, they did follow her into the cafeteria however. They stayed at the door, watching her, but they didn’t sit near her. It was the only inch of freedom she had. She assumed they weren’t as cold and lifeless as she thought, but they never took their eyes off her.

In turn, no one dared to sit with her. It was even more heart wrenchingly lonely than she was used to. She didn’t bother eating. Only sitting and staring at her food, irritated. 

After lunch, Amity was nearly dragging her feet as she walked to class, but she remembered that this was the class she shared with Luz. Amity had barely seen or heard the girl all day. Withholding her excitement, she picked up the pace. One of the guards sighed in what sounded like relief now that she wasn’t walking slower than a dying trash slug.

When she entered the classroom, she was excited, but it quickly faded. Luz wasn’t there. Amity wondered where on earth the girl could be. She sat through the rest of her classes, but Amity didn’t see Luz at all. Not even in the hallways. She was disappointed. She stood at her locker and put her books away. She heard the guards whispering to each other behind her. One walked off and the other stood directly behind Amity, holding his staff tight.

She was curious, but not that curious. In a mere second, the second guard returned. Amity grabbed her take-home work and turned to wait for them to lead her out the door, but one of them raised their staff and lunged for the other.

Amity was stunned, mouth agape as she stood confused. She couldn't say anything. The attacking guard knocked the other unconscious and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. “What in Titan’s name?” She stared down at the unconscious guard.

“Amity!” someone called to her in a hurried whisper. She turned her head to the direction of the sound and saw Luz’s friend Gus half hiding behind the corner. He was waving her over, urgency in his movements and expression. She looked back at the guard then at Gus. Stepping over the guard carefully, she ran over to him. 

“What is,”

“Come with me!” he grabbed her by the wrist and started to pull her out of the school and away from Hexside.

_ Are all of them like this?! _ She wondered.  _ Luz must be rubbing off on everyone if I'm going to keep getting dragged around. _

“Here,” he slowed to a stop.

“The Owl House? Gus, what is this?”

“Just,” he opened the door and pushed her inside. She looked at Willow, who was standing with her hands anxiously held against her chest. When Willow turned around and stepped aside, Amity’s eyes fell onto Luz.

She dropped her books and gasped. “Luz!”

The human girl was laying on the couch covered with a blanket. Her arm was in a sling and she had bandages and an ice pack on her head. 

“Luz, what happened to you?” Amity crouched beside the girl’s head, unsure what to do with her hands in fear of hurting her.

Luz opened her eyes slowly, looking over to Amity. “Amity?” she reached over with her good arm and put it around Amity’s shoulder. Amity knew well enough what she was asking for. She let herself be pulled in and she hugged Luz gently. 

“What happened to you Luz? Tell me.” she whispered into Luz’s shoulder.

Luz sat up a little bit and Amity pulled back. “I was on my way to school, but a bunch of people in hoods and cloaks showed up and just grabbed me for no reason! They didn’t look anything like the Emperor’s guards or workers. They were whispering something, and they tied me up. I tried to fight them, you know, and I almost got away. Fell down a hill, again,” she chuckled. “But one of them tackled me and I hit my head.” she used her good hand to gently grasp Amity’s. “I don’t really know what happened after that, but I woke up in a heck of a lot of pain in some creepy part of the woods. I couldn’t feel my arm and I could barely see. I heard flapping and then I was set down outside here just an hour ago.”

“That’s why you weren’t at school…” Amity’s voice was barely above a whisper. She didn't want to imagine what Luz had described. She liked living in a world where Luz never got hurt.

Luz nodded. “Don’t worry though, I’ll be okay,” she patted Amity's shoulder.

“But what if you weren’t?” Amity exclaimed suddenly, making Luz flinch. “You’re always getting put in danger Luz, I don’t like it.”

“Amity, it’s fine. It’s a learning experience.”

“What did they want from you? What did they look like?”

“I couldn’t really understand what they were saying, but I remember red hoods and black studded masks that were flat with nothing but holes to see.” Luz gestured.

Amity wanted to hunt these people down and make them pay. She didn't show her anger though, she just kept looking at Luz. The Owl Lady came into the room moments later, Lilith following behind her. 

“Luz, you’re supposed to be resting.” Eda said calmly. Luz looked back at her and then laid back down. She gave a soft smile to Amity before putting the ice pack back on her head. “Especially with that freshly broken arm, you can’t be moving around so much!”

Amity stood up. “Miss Owl Lady,” 

“Just call me Eda, kid.” Eda put her hands on her hip. Amity was about to ask to stay and help Luz recover, but Eda stopped her before she even got the first word out. “Actually, uh Amity was it?” she pointed at her. “You can’t be here.”

“What?” her shoulders dropped in disbelief.

“Don’t take it personally. Right now I have to keep Luz safe so she can heal. I don’t have my magic to protect her anymore and I can’t have the Emperor’s Coven at my doorstep waiting to take all of us away just because we were seen with you. I'll set her free in just a few days, but I need her to keep her distance from  _ you _ .” 

Amity looked at Luz, but the girl didn’t meet her eye.  _ She knew about this. _

“I know just how attached Luz is to you. And as much as I hate the witch, your mother only wants to protect you, in her own creepy controlling way. And I want to protect Luz.”

“But,”

“No buts.” Eda raised her hands. “I’m sorry kid. Now, go home so Luz can rest. All of you.”

Amity stared at Eda, shocked. She heard Willow and Gus leave but she was hesitant. “I can bring her healing glyphs,” Amity took a step back. “And the work she’ll miss in class!”

“If those fools aren’t around then  _ fine _ but the minute they come near my house you have to skedaddle. Understood?”

Amity nodded. She stepped past Eda to give Luz one last hug before walking out. She went back to the school, where her  _ actual _ escorts were. She slipped past them and snuck into the school. Even after taking a deep breath, her heart wouldn’t stop pounding.  _ This is so much easier when Luz is here. At least her recklessness gives me confidence. _ With a final sigh, she walked out the door. Both guards turned to her and immediately stood by her side. 

Neither of them said a word, and neither did Amity. They made the silent walk back home. As soon as they walked through the door, Amity was already piecing together a small plan. 

She had a feeling her mother would be at her throat if she ever found out, but for Luz? It was worth the risk. Luz had made Amity’s healing process so much better than it could have been. It was time to return the favor.

Amity walked up to her room with no change in face. She wanted to be as aloof as possible. She opened the door and threw her bag on her floor. Then she went down the hall to her sister’s room. The door was already cracked open. Amity gently nudged it and no one was inside.  _ Typical _ . Amity grunted to herself. They had already snuck out. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose and went back into her room. 

She couldn’t afford to write this stuff down in case her mother found it. She had to make sure that she  _ knew _ what she was asking of the twins, so she opened her bags and worked on her school work. They likely wouldn’t be home until the sun started to set anyways. So she waited.

Her mind got away from her more often than not. She imagined another night where Luz just waltzed in through her window and they spent a peaceful night together. A simple peck on the cheek for hello, and a small kiss on the lips for goodbye. It caused her to cover her face multiple times. She patted her face to get herself to focus after her train of thought derailed each time. After she finally finished her school work, she sat at her window sill.

The window had a translucent purple lock hanging on the handles outside, similar to her mother’s own magic. It couldn’t be opened. There was a similar lock above the inside of her door. Being in the process of transferring to the Emperor’s Coven, her mother  _ had _ the power to lock out Amity’s magic. 

It didn’t bother her though. Not anymore. That was because right outside, Amity heard footsteps go past her room. Quick and quiet. She got up quickly and opened her door. She saw her siblings both run into Emira’s room and slam the door. Determined, she walked up to it and knocked.

“Sorry! We’re doing homework!” Emira called out.

“Em,” Amity spoke, disinterested. The door opened slowly, and Emira smiled, pulling her sister in.

“You’re not gonna be a snitch are you?” She pointed at Amity. “We’re only grounded because Edric wanted to help you save Luz.”

"That’s what I want to talk to you about.” Amity stepped past her sister to the middle of the room. She explained that Luz had gotten hurt and she wanted to help, but was nearly unable due to the guards she had that were escorting her around all day. 

“Tough. We can’t do anything about that. We’re not in school long enough to steal healer glyphs.” Edric shrugged and leaned back on Emira’s bedroom chair.

Amity tapped her chin. “Well, I’ll have someone else get the glyphs. Can you two at least pretend to be coven guards tomorrow so I can go to Luz’s house and check on her?”

“Of course we can." Emira waved a hand, as if it was absurd Amity even considered that they couldn't. Amity brightened, but then Emira smirked. “But I thought you didn’t need our help with Luz,” she teased. Amity's grin flipped into a scowl and she growled, annoyed. She opened her mouth to interject, but Edric beat her to it.

“While we care about Luz and we understand  _ you’d _ do anything for your girlfriend, but what’s in it for us?” Edric got up and walked to stand on the other side of Amity. It was a way to trap her, physically and figuratively. She always had to choose her words right when dealing with them. 

“She’s n- you know what, nevermind." Amity waved her hands to dismiss the accusation. "If you pose as my guards, you can get out of the house without sneaking through the backdoor or the window. And since Mother will be more worried about  _ me _ leaving the house, she won’t bother checking for you.”

Ed and Em glanced at each other for a moment, but said nothing.

Amity sighed. She'd hoped she wouldn't have to bargain with them this much. " _ And _ … I'll let you help with the 'Luz situation'." She made quotes in the air before crossing her arms. 

Then with a smirk, they nodded at each other. “And you won't get  _ mad _ at us when we tease you about her?" Emira leaned back, focusing on Amity again. 

_ It's always something. _ Amity’s scowl deepened but she nodded.

“You can’t tell us we’re not allowed to hang out with her anymore either.” Edric took a step forward and turned so stood beside her, then he turned to face Emira. Both twins were smiling evilly at one another.

“Deal.” Amity held out her hand. Emira shook her hand and drew a circle in the air with her other hand. A light blue illusion of Luz appeared right beside Amity and Edric stepped away.

“Oh Amity,” Emira voiced the mirage, its own actions following along with her voice. “I can no longer stand the way our families pull us apart!” it grabbed Amity’s arm for emphasis, moving in to lean on her dramatically. 

Edric snickered and covered his mouth as Amity glared at her siblings. The Il-Luz-ion blocked her view of the twins, and Amity’s face heated up quickly. She knew it was fake but it was still  _ Luz _ ! It was more real than her daydreams.

The illusion grabbed her hands. “Let’s run away together! And get married, and live in a cottage and be in love forever and ever and ever!” it declared. Amity wanted to be furious, but she promised she wouldn't. The figure was so close, she could only manage to go red and look away. The twins laughed and Amity waved away the fake Luz. She walked around her siblings and back into her own room. 

They were jerks but at least they were helping her.

By the time tomorrow rolled around, their parents had already thrown a wrench in their plans. The three of the Blight children stood in the foyer attentively as their parents approached.

"An important guest is coming over for dinner and you  _ all _ have to be home  _ immediately _ after school. We expect nothing less than your best behavior. You are upholding the Blight family name after all." Their father had explained before sending the children on their way.

Amity decided to bide her time. If she couldn't get the glyphs herself, and neither could the twins, she could just ask one of Luz’s friends. There was no way they could refuse. She just had to wait until lunch to seize the opportunity of actually talking to Luz’s friends.

Once she entered the cafeteria, she scanned the room for Willow. She walked quickly but subtly, determined to get to Willow before she lost her chance.

"Willow," Amity approached as the other witch was grabbing a lunch tray. Willow looked up and seemed surprised to see her. 

"Amity, hey." She stood still, waiting for Amity to get closer. Amity grabbed her own tray and both girls walked up to the line. 

"I need your help with something." 

"Sure. I don't know if I'll be much help, you're in more advanced classes now,"

"No, I mean." She set her tray down as they each grabbed their own meals, "I need your help with Luz." 

Willow didn't meet her eye, instead reaching her hand over the container full of cold apple blood boxes. "Really?" She asked. The tone of her voice was implying something completely different. "I think it'll make her feel much better if you finally come clean." She picked one up and left the line.

"Wh- I- No!" Amity exclaimed, to which Willow giggled. She followed Willow to the lunch table. "I want to get her healing glyphs."

" _ Oh _ ," Willow looked at her then and nodded. "I can help with that." She put her tray down and sat down. "But, can't you just ask for them?"

"What am I going to tell the healer with the guards at my side?" Amity leaned her elbow on the table. "I can't admit that I'm getting them for Luz. Plus I have to be home right after school. I was hoping maybe you or Gus could get them and take them to Luz for me?"

“Gus is friends with someone in the healing coven.” Willow said as soon as Gus joined them at the table. “They were in the human appreciation society so I’m sure he can pull a few strings.”

"Pull a few strings for what?" He asked.

"She's getting healing glyphs for Luz." Willow explained. "You're friends with Bo still right? Can you ask her if she can grab some for you?"

Gus picked up his own apple blood box, and sipped from it, looking at Amity deep in thought. "Yeah." He pointed it at Amity. "I'll ask her for some glyphs. "

“Can you take them to Luz today?” Amity leaned forward, glad that they were able to help.

He nodded. "Willow and I were going to visit her today anyways. Luz would be happy to see you too you know. You're her friend too,"

“I would…" Amity drummed her fingers on the table. "But my mother said my siblings and I have to be home _right_ after school for some important guest. I can’t go see Luz until I know how long that guest will be at my house.” she looked away, frustrated at the implication that Luz might very well be asleep by the time the guest leaves. She couldn't ask the twins to fake her appearance either, since they were in the same situation. _Even if I wanted to have an illusion made, I'm sure Mother would ask me questions or make me perform. Anything that could boost her reputation with whoever shows up._

Amity felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked to Willow, who was giving her a comforting smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll get the glyphs to Luz. You focus on your family. We’ll tell you how it goes."

Amity thanked them both, grateful, but she didn’t say anything else for the rest of lunch. She felt better knowing that Luz would be getting good help. She only wished that she could be there for her as well. For selfish and selfless reasons.  _ No matter _ . She made sure to keep up her act. Taking a quiet breath, she picked up the pace, walking as if she was still the prissy Top Student from before Luz showed up and allowed her to change.

The coven guards matched her stride, all the way from her class after lunch to the trip home. Amity was eager to get inside, she knew she had no control over how long the meeting might run, but she wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. On her way toward her room she saw her siblings standing in the dining room doorway, still as boards. She doubted their mother would tolerate their shenanigans today, so she approached them quietly. She glanced at them both, and they were staring straight ahead at their father. Amity also tensed up, holding her arms by her side attentively. 

Now that all of the children were here, their father stood up from his seat. “As you three know, your mother is going to become the new head of the Emperor's Coven." He began. His tone of voice made Amity’s stomach turn over.

Her mother being in charge of the very coven Luz despised could, no  _ would _ , make things all the more complicated. 

"With such a change, we’ll have a few adjustments made around the house as well. To start,  _ none _ of you will associate or 'make friends' with any witch or demon that does not have authoritative power of some sort. We have been lenient before but that ends today. That  _ includes _ , covenless witches or  _ humans _ .” her father glared at her specifically, and she swallowed hard. "We are role models for the Isles and we must abide by the standards set in place. Each of you will find yourself in the Emperor’s Coven soon, you'll need to make a good impression early to secure a spot among their ranks."

Their mother walked in then. She set down a stack of papers on the table and stood beside her husband. “We will have the Emperor’s Coven at our beck and call once I assume the position of head of the coven. The Emperor’s assistant will be here to begin the process. There will be guards around the house, but I will be busy leading the Coven so I will not be here very often. That does  _ not  _ mean run off and cause trouble!" Their mother pointed at the twins, holding them under a strict gaze. Amity was lucky to not have grown up so foolish to anger their mother with a history of pranks and tomfoolery. "You’re expected to behave as if you are going to be put on the spot at  _ any _ times! No sign of  _ weakness _ , no  _ faltering _ , no  _ jokes _ , no entertaining  _ commoners _ . None of it.” she surveyed all three of them. 

Emira flexed her fingers but kept them on her side. She'd been  _ particularly _ guilty of associating with some of the multitrack students at Hexside. It would leave a small mark on her reputation as the eldest Blight child, but any imperfection for them was just the same as purposefully dragging their family name through the mud.

“We expect you three to continue to do well in your studies and keep our family name in good standing. We have a reputation to uphold.” Their father put his hands together and sat back down. “Do anything to jeopardize it, and you will be punished. Severely.”

“Now go get ready. She’ll be here in two hours.” their mother waved them off and sat down herself. 

The children all nodded and turned around. Amity wasn’t sure about the twins, but she was nervous. She relied on the Emperor’s Coven as a goal for her future, something to work toward when everything else might fail. But with that said coven after Luz and Eda, she was becoming unsure if she should continue to pursue it. Maybe her parents would be alright with her choosing to follow the Abomination Coven? It would certainly be an argument but she was prepared to ask.  _ After _ the meeting with the Emperor’s assistant. She didn’t want to ruin her chances of her parents actually accepting her request by misbehaving. They put the pressure of joining the coven on  _ her  _ specifically. The twins were allowed to say otherwise, but Amity had few other options. 

Now standing in her room, Amity was trying to decide between her variety of dresses. She was drawn to the one she wore for Grom, but she didn’t want that dress tainted by any bad energy she might fester at dinner. It would spoil her memory  _ and _ her appetite. Instead, she settled for a somewhat regal white dress with a gentle purple flounce. Its skirt was a muted purple covered in sequins. The sleeves were fitted and white frills lined the waist of the dress. It was something she often wore when dealing with her parents' guests. It showed off just how wealthy her family was but it didn't make her stand out too much. As the youngest Blight, she preferred to not be the center of attention any more than her parents would insist.

She slipped on laced lilac socks and short black heels to match, then adjusted her hair to look similar to her mother’s. A polished up-do rather than her usual ponytail. All her years of being forced to attend dinner parties and large events, she knew what would make her look just as put together yet unapproachable as her mother. She never wanted to copy the woman, but it saved her from unnecessary conversations from guests she didn't know. 

She walked over to her mirror and brushed over her skirt. She smiled a little, a genuine smile, but then put on a more “proper” smile. She folded her hands and fixed her posture. She was pleased with how she looked. It hadn’t taken her long to get ready, it was expected of her to be quick to leave time to prepare her manners, but she looked nice for the short amount of time put into her appearance. 

She continued to stare in the mirror though, gently twirling her skirt with her fingers gently holding the hem. For a moment, she let herself get wrapped in her thoughts. Reminiscing about the night she and Luz had shared a short moment in the forest after escaping from the guards.

_ I wonder if she was thinking the same thing _ , Amity wondered. Lifting her fingers to her face, she gently brushed them over her bottom lip.  _ I wonder _ … she didn’t resist a smile. Her mind loved the idea of sharing a brief tender kiss with Luz after a night of fun. The moon always loved to shine down on them when they got close. Luz  _ was _ also closing the distance between the two of them that night. 

_ Was she? _ Amity looked up from her thoughts, finally analyzing the memory instead of just replaying it. She shouted in surprise when she saw Edric and Emira were standing behind her. She spun around and stared at them, almost falling back into her mirror. “Wh-”

“Shhh,” Edric gestured with a finger over his mouth while Emira reached out to keep her sister from falling. “What were you thinking about Mittens? Your girlfriend?” 

“She’s not my  _ girlfriend _ . We’re just friends.” she forced herself to stand up straight and stop daydreaming.  _ How did I not hear them come in? _

“Yeah right,” Emira rolled her eyes and stood back with Edric. Both of the twins were dressed in matching suits with blue shirts and dark gray jackets. “I mean, with all the moments you two have had-” 

“-That were always ruined because of  _ you two _ or something else,” Amity cut in and crossed her arms. 

“I would be  _ surprised _ if all you were was friends.” Emira leaned her head on one of her palms. “Luz isn’t stupid, you know.”

Amity blinked. Then she scoffed. “What is  _ that _ supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Emira snickered, looking at Edric.

“We just think that you’re being a bit obvious. Imagine if Mother found out that not only were you  _ friends _ with the human, but you were romancing her too!” he fake gasped.

“That is  _ not _ \- I’m not-” Amity groaned, face palming. “I’m not “romancing” anyone!  _ Especially  _ not Luz!”

“Keep your voice down Mittens, before one of the guards hears you.” Edric fake scolded. “We wanna continue to help you with Luz, but you gotta give us more to work with.” they both leaned in, staring at her with wicked smiles.

“Anything special happen between you two? We could help set the mood!” Emira seemed excited about the idea of setting up her sister on a date. She would definitely go overboard with dressing Amity up no matter what she went out to do. Amity took a step back, a little nervous about their enthusiasm, but she was trapped between them and her mirror. 

She took a moment. "Uhm," she swallowed.  _ There was Grom, and the walk in the forest. _ She thought, barely blushing.  _ And after we  _ fell _ in the forest, and when she was here when my cast was on. The many times she’d sat very close to me during our book club meetings, getting in my face randomly.  _

She lifted a hand up to cover her mouth, no longer looking at her siblings as her blush worsened.  _ There were so many instances where we  _ almost  _ accidentally kissed. _ The fact made her stomach flutter. It made her wonder if she would ever get over her jitters about Luz.

“I’m going to take your silence as a yes.” Emira sighed. “We’ll just improvise!'' She drew a spell circle and made an illusion of Luz in her Grom outfit complete with the tiara, Amity bearing her own that Edric had created. The twins took a step back. “You can practice your confession right now! Before dinner! That way, when it eventually happens, you’ll be ready!”

“I’m not _confessing_ in front of _you_ _two!”_ Amity’s voice cracked more than she would have liked, causing the twins to snicker. 

“Oh, but Mittens, you promised you wouldn’t get mad at us!” Edric gave her a look that screamed teasing sympathy. “And we’re allowed to help!”

“It’s not as simple as just going ‘Hey Luz! I have a giant crush on you!’” Amity spoke through gritted teeth before waving her hands in the air dramatically. "I'd faint far before I had the chance to get past 'hey'!" Emira smirked and drew another circle. The illusion of Luz grabbed Amity’s hand.

“But Amity, it is that easy! Who would I be to say no to you?” The illusion spoke in time with Emira.

Amity waved her arms and the vision poofed away. She also got rid of the tiara. “I’d rather hear it from her before I give anything away.” Amity said softly, not looking at Edric or Emira. “It’s… not some silly crush anyways. I don’t want her to want me because of my reputation.”

She didn’t lift her head and only got quieter. Her siblings didn’t laugh, instead they walked over to her. They patted her shoulder comfortingly. “Alright.” Emira muttered. “We’ll come up with something for you, don’t worry.” she said before she and Edric walked out. “We’ll let you know!” she said finally, closing her door.

Amity sat on her bed roughly. She rubbed her face some but held her hand over her mouth.

_ No way would I tell them we almost kissed! No! Way! Maybe if it happens for real, but I doubt that will be any time soon. _

She spent the rest of the wait letting herself daydream. She used the thoughts to ease her mind. She thought of finally going over Luz’s house for that sleepover after they walked through the town. She imagined the two of them would buy some sort of treat and walk back home, holding hands the entire way. They would watch romantic dramas, do more dramatic readings of Azura, finally get to plan their cosplay date, and maybe even when the night slows down, they could get close under Luz’s blanket, or… sleeping bag.  _ She really needs a bed _ .

They relaxed her long enough. She didn’t bother twisting it into a fantasy world where she and Luz shared a long awaited kiss. It didn’t fit. She just wanted to hang out, at least at their first sleepover where they actually slept. One that was planned and not spontaneous, like when Luz showed up to read to her and then Willow ended up coming over.

Amity wanted something that only she and Luz would share. They had Azura, but she wanted  _ more _ . She tried not to call it selfish, wanting so much from Luz despite not giving much of herself in return.

_ It could change. It’s not impossible. Luz talks like a hopeless romantic anyways. Talking about your feelings about someone changing from hate to love, wanting to know someone better, spending time at night with someone. _ Luz had used the word friend, but only after a moment’s hesitation. Amity wanted to think about why, but there was a knock at her door telling her that she had no time to think about any tension between her and Luz. 

She went downstairs and sat next to her sister at the dining table. Her mother and father sat side by side, instead of at opposite ends of the table. Where her father usually sat, was a short little demon woman. Her hair looked like a claw and her mouth was covered by her shirt collar. 

“Children, this is Kikimora. The Emperor’s assistant.” her mother introduced them. 

“Hello.” Amity and her siblings greeted Kikimora respectfully, gently bowing to her as they had been taught at a young age.  _ Bow to anyone close to the Emperor. _ Their mother had told them.

“Greetings.” She replied. “My apologies for this last notice information Mrs. Blight, but there has been a… change in the Emperor’s plans.”

Amity looked to her mother, who seemed slightly anxious just by her expression. Her body language gave off nothing, but there was a glint in her eye Amity could spot from a mile away.

“Worry not, you’re still secured to take Lilith’s place as the head of the coven, however, the Emperor has hired a handful of witches who seek your guidance and watchful eye. As a witch proficient in oracle magic, they’ll need your assistance tracking down a specific someone.”

“Of course.” Odalia nodded. 

“This will interfere with your position as a mentor only. Since you’ll be required to be at the Emperor’s castle most days and nights.” Kikimora spoke awfully calmly. It was nerve wracking. Amity wanted to meet this person who sounded like a bounty hunter. 

“I’ll see to it.”

“Wonderful. I’m sure you’re willing to meet the person in charge of the search.” Kikimora snapped her claws and someone tall and burly walked into the dining hall. His presence scared Amity deeply, but after taking a good look at him, the hairs on her neck rose in anger.

_ This guy was responsible for hurting Luz! _


	7. Chapter 7

Amity remained still in her seat. Only to keep herself from shouting furiously and causing a commotion. The leader of the witch hunter group was sitting feet away from her. Him, Kikimora, and Amity’s mother were all engaged in their own conversation. She had obeyed her parents and greeted him as she would anyone else, but her words were laced with a smothered hatred. She wanted to curse him, not that she knew any curses, but she figured it would be a suitable revenge.

She knew Luz was accident prone. The human girl was clumsy and was definitely a target for her assistance in her mentor's crimes. And sure, the guards that patrolled the town had chased Luz into some sort of tumble more often than not which left her with a few brushes and scrapes, but these hunters had  _ injured _ her. Or gotten her injured. She was at home healing instead of at school! Luz was  _ hurt _ because of these, what Amity could only wish to describe as  _ barbarians _ , and their mere presence had her seething.

She refused to speak much during the meeting. She held her tongue when her siblings had passed her glances and when the food came out she ate just as silently. Her mother didn't ask her to speak, or address her at all, which was relieving, but Amity was still eager to say her pleasant goodbyes and leave the table when the opportunity presented itself. Fuming internally, she went to her room. Unable to use her magic to let out her frustration, she fell onto her bed and shouted into her pillow. 

It was short lived, but it released some of the tension in her muscles. She laid still on the bed for minutes, face down in her pillow. Her mind was racing. She was thinking of ways she could pretend to be as bold as Luz and scare this group of hunters away for good, but from her knowledge, they were never scared off. Their only job was to collect rogue witches, and they had done just that.  _ Eda _ was spared by the Titan, but Luz? Luz was not, according to Kikimora. The Emperor had 'business' with her. The hunters were after Luz.  _ Her _ Luz!

She wanted to race out the house and protect Luz until she recovered and could fight for herself, but Amity knew better. To be so reckless would put them both in danger. The witch hunters didn’t seem to know where Eda lived anyway. Luz said they got her on her way to school, not by the house. She was safe at home, at least for now.

Amity sighed. It was one new problem after the other. She now had to dodge her mother, coven guards,  _ and _ witch hunters to be able to spend time with Luz. 

An hour passed before Amity heard someone open the front door of the manor. She cracked the door open and peeked down the hall. She was careful not to be heard as she approached the stairway. She saw her mother and the witch hunter walk out. Only the top of Kikimora’s head could be seen from Amity’s perspective. They all exited the manor, one of the servants closing the door behind them. It made her curious, but she wouldn’t dare follow her mother. Not alone and not without a motive. So she went back to her room to figure something out.

Though, as soon as she saw two coven guards standing in front of her doorway, she stepped back, startled. She grunted and walked past them into her room. She was about to close the door but one stuck their hand out to keep her from doing so.

“Amity Blight, your mother has ordered us to watch over you in her absence.” the other one of them pointed at her. 

Amity’s heart nearly thrummed out of her chest.  _ Are they really going to steal the privacy of my own room?  _ She stared at them for a while longer, but then relaxed somewhat when they didn’t say anything else. Both of them lifted their masks, and underneath were Ed and Em. Amity blinked, but sighed.  _ Of course. _

“Get ready! We’re going to leave the house!” Edric smiled.

“Isn’t it dangerous to leave the house so soon after Mother left?” Amity hesitated. 

The twins stared at her. “Well, we’re gonna leave with or without you, so I suggest you get ready.” Emira lifted her eyebrows, as if she was confused why Amity wasn't jumping on this opportunity.

“Where are you even going?” 

The twins shrugged. “But we’ll guide you out of the house until we’re far enough away. Then we can go see Luz!”

“Uhm,”  _ We? _

“Come on Mittens!” Edric urged. “The longer we stand here the more suspicious everyone is going to get. We’ll be by the front door. Hurry up.” 

Without giving her time to respond, they put their masks down and drew spell circles to conjure up staves similar to the other guards’. They snickered only briefly before walking away. Amity closed her door and left her hand on the doorknob. She took a moment to process the offer.

_ It’s an opportunity to check on Luz. But do I really want them there too? Luz wouldn't care, they're her friends too. Its not like I have many other options, I  _ do _ want to go see her… _

Amity inhaled and let go of the doorknob. It was a good chance to take. Her mother was likely headed toward the Emperor’s castle, so they wouldn't run into her.

She changed into a regular black sweater and some leggings. She grabbed her bag off the floor and hurried out the room toward the front door. The guards standing beside said door blocked her path with their staves, and she skidded to a halt. For a moment, she thought that these weren't her siblings, and she'd made a mistake. She swallowed hard and straightened her posture, putting on her usual cold Blight gaze. 

“Are you ready?” Emira’s voice came through the mask. Amity nodded, and they pulled back their staves and opened the door. Amity walked through and they followed. She waited for the door to close behind them before she let herself relax. 

“Sooo,” Edric cooed. His tone of voice suggested that he had a question on his mind. Amity had an idea what that question was, but she only stared ahead.

“We wanted to give you another chance to tell us how we could help set the mood for your confession to Luz!” Emira confirmed Amity's suspicions. She sounded like she was smiling, but she kept facing forward.  _ They were exceptional actors _ .

“I told you,” Amity gripped the strap of her bag, not wanting to have this conversation again.

“Actually, you didn’t tell us anything.” Emira interrupted. “We asked you and all you did was start blushing like crazy! I’ve never seen someone so embarrassed.”

The statement was an exaggeration, obviously.  _ She's making fun of me. _ Amity thought with a grumble.  _ With all the trouble Edric and Emira caused, I'm sure she's seen people much more embarrassed than I was earlier. _

“We won't be there if you don’t want us to be, but it would be a good excuse for us all to leave the house if we’re setting up for the big moment.” Edric added.

“You  _ won’t _ be there. Don’t set anything up." Amity spoke firmly, hoping to deter their meddling. "I would rather it just  _ happen _ .” Amity grunted. “Don’t tell her either!”

“We would never!” Both twins exclaimed defensively as they passed the gate. Amity rolled her eyes.  _ They’re going to try something anyways. All I want to do is check on her, and maybe go for another walk. She probably hasn't left the house since she got hurt. She might like the fresh air.  _

Amity barely took notice of Edric and Emira dropping their disguises. The rest of their walk was quiet, aside from the twins idle chatter about what they were going to do after dropping their sister off. Amity drowned them out. She didn’t care what they were going to do. All she had to worry about was spending time with Luz and then waiting for them to come pick her up and walk her home again.

As soon as the Owl House was in sight, Amity grew anxious. She wanted to make sure Luz wasn't any worse. Her nerves were urging her to pick up the pace. She kept her cool for only moments after that thought before she ran toward the door. She was ready to bang on the door, eager to see Luz, but she forced herself to relax. Clearing her throat, she tried not to seem too excited. Her siblings snickering behind her told her that she clearly failed in that sense, but she ignored it for now. She simply knocked on the door calmly and stepped back. 

There were soft footsteps, and the door opened slowly. Luz was in her pajamas and had a blanket over her shoulders. She was rubbing her eye before making eye contact with Amity. The witch felt her heart in her throat momentarily. Luz looked  _ outrageously _ adorable with a bedhead and the sleepy look on the human girl’s face made Amity's heart melt. 

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Amity said softly, reaching toward Luz. She wanted to hold Luz’s head in her hands, but Luz yawned. Amity put a halt in her movements. Luz looked at Amity’s hand and smiled. She stepped forward and gave Amity a hug. 

“Yes, but its okay, I’m glad you came.” she muttered. Sleep was definitely heavy on her voice, she barely sounded awake. Amity peeked past her and saw another blanket and a pillow on the couch. Luz's phone was also on the table.  _ She must have been sleeping on the couch. It's better than her floor… and she doesn't have to walk up and down the stairs and risk tripping. _

“I wanted to check on you. And uhm… talk to the Owl Lady.” Amity spoke as Luz let go of her. 

“Eda is asleep, but I can tell her.”

“I’ll wait then,” Amity waved. “I don’t want to spoil a good moment.” 

And on cue, she was yanked back by her siblings. “Luz! Your arm!” they gasped, pushing Amity out of the way to gawk at Luz’s cast. Amity stumbled and glared at her siblings. She didn't understand why they were being so dramatic, she told them Luz had gotten hurt already. She would have thrown anyone out of the way to get to Luz, but  _ their _ aggression was unnecessary. 

“Oh, yeah.” the human grazed her fingers over her cast slowly. “It's okay, I’m healing well. Willow and Gus brought healing glyphs for me today.” She glanced past the twins at Amity. “Thank you for that, by the way.”

“What happened?” The twins pressed, stepping closer.

“Uh, well I don’t wanna let anyone in without Eda’s permission again, but I can’t stand here forever. You can come sit down.”

The twins walked in gladly, and Amity walked in a little slower. She was nervous to break the news about the hunters to Luz, part of her was glad the twins took her attention. It gave her time to stall. Luz closed the door slowly once everyone was inside.

“So, what brings you guys here anyways?” Luz sat down on the red couch. She adjusted the blanket around her so it wasn't falling off.

“We came to see you!” Emira spoke proudly and sat down on the green couch further from the door. “We missed our favorite human!”

Luz laughed gently.  _ Something is bothering her. _ Amity hummed and took a seat beside her.

“But Mittens never told us that you hurt your arm!” Edric leaned forward. "She said you got hurt and that was it!"

“Oh," Luz looked at Amity briefly before turning back to the twins. "Yeah. I got hurt running from some guards the other day. The woods are very unforgiving when you’re falling.” Luz explained with a kind tone. 

_ She’s lying to them… _ Amity thought quietly, idly playing with her thumbs.  _ I guess it makes sense. The twins are more audacious than I am. They know about the hunters but Kikimora never explicitly said they were after Luz. If Ed and Em found out they would probably be a big thorn in Mother’s side. _

“So Mittens organized someone to steal healing glyphs for you?” Edric asked. Both twins leaned back and mirrored each other. They held their hands against their chin in an L-shape and gave Luz a quizzical stare. “Interesting.” they said simultaneously, side eyeing one another.

"I wouldn't say steal, Gus is friends with someone in the healing track. I'm sure they were easy to get." Luz laughed softly. 

The twins asked Luz more questions about her injury and Amity’s involvement. Luz didn't give too much away though, and she even avoided a few questions all together. The twins let her though, something Amity would have never gotten away with. 

After a few minutes they got up and said they’d be back to pick up Amity. Amity and Luz waved them off and watched them leave. Amity stared at the door, lowering her hand slowly only because she didn’t want to break the truth to Luz. Not in her own home.

She turned to Luz and chewed on her lip, considering her options. “Do you wanna go for a walk?” Amity offered. Luz’s tired expression changed into one of excitement immediately. 

“Heck yeah!”

Amity smiled back and Luz jumped to her feet. She followed Luz up to her room. Luz was chatty while Amity helped her put on her hoodie. She talked about how Eda didn't want her out of the house alone while she was recovering. Luz took hold of her hand as soon as Amity reached for the door. It felt so right, and the witch willed herself to not dissolve into a flustered mess. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to holding Luz’s hand until she knew how the other girl felt, but Luz didn’t let any hints slip while they walked. 

Amity did most of the talking. She was more awake. Luz walked beside her, lightly swinging their hands but she was otherwise pretty quiet. Amity managed to bring up her mother while talking about a childhood story and she trailed off. She cleared her throat.

“You okay?” Luz asked, tilting her head forward to look at Amity.

“Yeah. I just," Amity sighed and reached up to brush a hair out of her face. "I have mixed feelings about my mother…  _ now _ more than ever.” she admitted. Luz gave her hand a comforting squeeze. One Amity was grateful for. “ _ Thankfully _ , she won’t be my mentor. But that's only because the Emperor said he had better plans for her than some simple teacher. It means that I won’t be forced to avoid you as much, but… it’s what she’s been asked to help with that worries me. I wonder if following her orders for my own safety is even the right thing to do anymore.”

Luz didn’t reply. She only hummed and stood closer to Amity as they walked.

Amity swallowed hard at the silence that followed. “And that meeting my mother had… wasn’t just with the Emperor’s assistant.” she forced the words out. The reality of it all was scary. “Emperor Belos has organized a group of bounty hunters to do work for him.”

She knew Luz was looking at her, but Amity didn’t look back. She forced herself to keep her eyes on the ground.

“My mother has been put in charge of their captures.” she felt the next words hang in her heart like lead. She hesitated. Saying it was basically admitting defeat. 

She gave a sideways glance toward the human girl. The concerned look in her brown eyes made Amity feel that much worse. She stopped walking and turned to face Luz completely.

“They’re after  _ you _ , Luz.” she spoke with bated breath. Luz eyebrows furrowed and her eyes searched Amity’s own. The dark of the night couldn't hide the increasing confusion and worry.

“Me? I-I’m not a witch!”

“The Emperor has you classified as otherwise. You're technically a criminal. You  _ fought  _ with him personally, and  _ escaped _ . I don’t know what he’ll get out of capturing you, but I  _ do _ know that I won’t let them get you.” Amity lifted their hands reassuringly. “I can’t go against my mother’s wishes, she wants me to stop seeing you. But I can’t let her let them  _ ever  _ take you away from me! For once I’m able to help keep you  _ safe _ .” Amity eyes blazed with determination, the same kind she always saw in Luz.

Except this time, Luz didn’t match her gaze. She looked  _ afraid _ . “Amity, no. You could get in trouble. Or worse! You could get  _ hurt _ !”

“I don’t care.”

“ _ I _ care.”

The tenacious glare Luz put on made Amity backtrack mentally. “They might try to  _ kill _ you, Luz. Do you want me to just sit by and watch?” she raised her voice some, baffled that Luz wasn't giving way on this. They didn't have many options. It was either let Luz watch her back  _ on her own _ since Eda had no magic and Lilith was, to Amity's knowledge, completely uninvolved in their affairs, or do  _ something  _ and keep Luz safe since Amity knew more about the situation. She may not have had all of the pieces of the situation, but she knew her mother well enough to be able to guess her possible plans of action. Yet and still, Luz was giving her the same resistant stare.

“Amity, trust me." She began, which seemed to strike a nerve in the shorter girl. "I’m much better at magic than I used to be. I can defend myself."

"But-"

"I know I was caught off guard last time, but now I know what to watch out for. I’m glad you warned me, but if I can’t protect you, I won’t let you protect me.” she let her gaze soften and she looked down at their hands.

“What are you  _ talking _ about?” Amity was exasperated.

Luz pulled her hand from Amity's hold slowly. “You said you don’t want me putting myself in danger for you. I’m going to hold you to the same standard.” 

Amity pursed her lips and growled unhappily. She expected Luz to have agreed and come up with some outrageous plan to avoid the hunters and make it fun in the process. She was ready to indulge Luz and her reckless antics. Her reaction now left Amity at a crossroads. Luz was being cautious about this. She probably spent her time at home thinking about how Amity had denied her the chance to do what she seemed to do best. Her selflessness would get her in far worse trouble than Amity would prefer. 

Conflicted, Amity sighed. “Fine.” she gave in and let her shoulders relax. 

“You’ll be safer this way.” Luz gave a gentle smile and patted Amity’s shoulder. 

“No." Amity gently removed Luz’s hand. " _ Fine _ , as in I’m going to protect you, and… I won’t be upset if you do the same. Just, be careful.”

Luz looked worried at first, but her smile returned. She gave Amity a hug out of nowhere. “We’re stronger as a unit anyways,” she laughed.

Amity hesitated to hug back. She should have known Luz would be stubborn about this. Luz rarely backed down from anything. A smile poked at Amity’s face as she remembered just how easily Luz would stir up trouble with a challenge. She let a chuckle slip through and hugged the other girl back. 

They stood there for a moment. Amity wasn't opposed to staying like that, but Luz started to pull away. She took hold of Amity's hand again and pulled her along to continue their walk. The silence was comfortable now that there was nothing hanging so close above their heads. They walked and swayed their interlocked hands absentmindedly. 

_ I’m glad I told her. Now we both know who to look out for. My mother won’t be home to watch my every move anyways, and I can learn to dodge the guards. It’ll be their fault if they lose sight of me, not mine. This is a step in the right direction. Isn't it?  _

_ No, I’m going against my mother. She’ll kill me if she finds out I'm basically plotting against her. Not to mention she’ll be even more furious if she finds out I have feelings for the very person she’s trying to remove from the picture. As if I’ll let her! _

_ …As if she'll let me stop her. She's involved with the Emperor even more now. Her magic outweighs mine by default. I'll just work harder to make sure Luz stays safe. That's all that matters.  _

Luz’s gasp grabbed Amity’s attention. The taller girl was practically jumping as she exclaimed. “Amity look! The Night Market!” she pointed while still holding Amity’s hand. The market's dim purple lights could be seen just ahead. Its presence definitely intimidated Amity.

“Oh, we should take another route then,” Amity glanced at the human girl, only to find out Luz was  _ fascinated _ by the sketchy market. “Luz," she began to warn. Luz turned toward her, no change in face.  _ Curse you. Your adorableness makes it hard to say no to you! _ "It’s dangerous.” she went on anyways, hoping to convince Luz to let them walk away.

“Danger is my middle name!” Luz’s eyes sparkled. “Let’s just look around! Eda never lets me go to the Night Market.”

_ Probably for good reason.  _ Amity chewed the inside of her cheek. No way would Luz budge at this point. It would be better to keep Luz company  _ now _ than to find out she'd gotten herself in trouble on her own. "Okay, but let's not stay for too long." Amity summoned an abomination to watch their back as they entered. 

Luz was gazing around with stars in her eyes. The lights of some of the shops reflected on her eyes, and she was fully enamored with the trinkets and potions on display. Amity on the other hand, was more than anxious. She knew the dangers of the Night Market, and had been warned, more like threatened, against being in here. Forbidden even, since the twins have had their fair share of traipsing in what her parents described as 'littered with low-lives'. The twins were constantly getting all three of them banned from places that didn't already favor Amity. She was  _ lucky  _ they didn't get her banned from the library after their constant shenanigans. The bitterness of the fact did little to ease her nerves. Only Luz’s idle tapping on the back of her hand was keeping the witch sane.

Even so, she let Luz pretty much drag her around to stare at the things these people had up for sale. Each item was far more outlandish than what might be sold in the regular market. Some were intriguing, like a crystal ball that gives you the ability to quite literally have an out of body experience. Others were just a bit odd. Such as the necklace that, when worn, gives anyone you look at the hiccups. Luz seemed enraptured with it at first, but she didn't do much but stare at it.

There was one stand that stuck out to her thought. And Luz had pulled her right toward it with a new energy in her steps. She pulled Amity’s hand up to point at something in the back. “What is that!?” she shouted. Amity looked between Luz and the person inside the stand. The clerk blinked at Luz and then looked back at what Luz was pointing at. It was too dark and there were too many objects to correctly guess exactly Luz was interested in. 

“That?" The clerk pointed back with his thumb, to which Luz eagerly nodded. "I think it’s a little above your skill level, young miss,” he gave a short smirk. 

Luz scoffed. She was obviously insulted at the comment. Her grip on Amity’s hand confirmed that fact, and she angrily brushed her thumb along the back of her hand. 

The clerk held a hand as if telling Luz to relax, reached underneath the counter, and pulled out a similarly sized case. It was wrapped in a golden ribbon with music notes painted in a fancy pattern along the top edges. “This, I’m sure, is more suited for you.” he opened the case, revealing a wooden music box with a slot in the front and two dancers on a silver saucer in the middle. They seemed to be dancing on what looked like ice, but the craftsmanship wasn't exactly professional and it was hard to tell. “Eighty snails.”

“Eighty snails for this!?” Luz protested. 

“The case you want is three hundred.” he pointed back with his claw. 

Luz stood quietly and pouted angrily. Amity gave her a short glance. Her childishness was cute, and it swayed Amity to let go of her hand and reach into her bag. She pulled out her wallet and set four hundred snails on the counter. “We’ll take both. Keep the change.” Amity said calmly.

The clerk eyed Amity suspiciously, then inspected the snails carefully. “Alright.” he muttered. Luz was a jittering ball of excitement as the clerk went into the back and grabbed the case she had originally wanted. He set it on the counter and reached down to get something else. “Keep it hidden and you’ll get what you paid for. Don’t open it for one week and make sure it stays out of the sun.” he put both of the cases in a tote bag and handed them to Amity. She thanked the clerk curtly and turned to walk away. Though, when Luz stuck her tongue out at the clerk instead of following her, Amity pulled her away. Once they were far enough away, Luz was near bouncing with each step.

“This is so exciting!" She shouted, stepping in front of Amity to twirl in an excited circle. "One week from now we can go on an  _ adventure _ ! And Eda says with the glyphs I should be healed in no time!”

Amity’s smile reflected Luz’s own. She wasn't sure what kind of adventure could come from what they'd purchased. But the items did come from the Night Market, so the chance of them being some sort of mythical quest tool wasn't out of the question. Either way, she was glad Luz was so happy.

“Let’s go try out the music box! I have some great songs on my phone!” Luz took hold of Amity’s hand again, ready to pull her away.

Amity laughed. “Okay, let's get out of this creepy market.”

She walked with Luz back toward the Owl House. The girl was humming something until she made a sharp turn off the path and into the woods. 

“Luz, I thought we were-” Amity spoke up, confused.

“Let’s dance in the forest!” Luz interrupted her. She turned to look at Amity, still walking. “It’ll be fun!” Her expression seemed innocent. Usually for Amity, hearing 'it'll be fun' meant whatever happened was  _ not _ going to be fun.

Luz led them to a small clearing and let go of Amity’s hand to admire the sky. Amity set her bag along with the market bag down against a tree. She was nervous about leaving them on the forest floor, but Luz stepped in front of her and the concern faded away. 

Luz eagerly picked out the music case. She looked around and found a stump to set it on. After she opened it, she idly tapped her chin, staring at the case. Amity walked over to her. Luz looked ridiculously deep in thought, until her eyes flickered to catch Amity's own.

"It has occurred to me that I do not know how this works." Luz gave a sheepish smile. "Music boxes in my world have a single song built in. They're also only used for lullabies."

Amity raised an eyebrow and held back a gentle laugh. "You just put your scroll into the holder and it makes the music louder." 

“Aw sweet! It's just like my speaker at home!” Luz cheered. She pulled out her phone and tapped on it a whole bunch. "I hope it works with my phone though." Once she inserted it into the small slot of the box, the sound from her phone was amplified. Not so loud to disturb the wildlife, but loud enough to excite Luz. “Yes! It works!” she cheered. That sent a few birds scattering from their trees. “This was my favorite song back home!” She hopped back from the stump and started to dance to the song. She looked  _ ridiculous _ dancing with a cast, but it amused Amity. 

Amity covered her mouth to hide just how much she was smiling, but she laughed accidentally and got Luz’s attention. Luz had on the most entertained smile Amity had even seen. She laughed herself, not out of embarrassment, and reached out to Amity, gesturing for her to come dance with her. Amity shook her head gently. Dancing embarrassed her, even if they were alone. She was only taught formal dancing, and it was nothing like what Luz was doing now. Luz rolled her eyes at Amity's hesitance and insisted with a grin. Amity eventually gave in and let Luz pull her in. 

The moonlight was dim, but the music was upbeat and Luz’s energy warmed the area. Amity thought they both looked like fools dancing, but there wasn't a care in the world. She was having fun. Way more than she usually allowed herself to have. As the song ended, they were both laughing. Amity was barely hanging onto Luz after almost slipping on leaf litter. She was out of breath and outrageously red in the face. The word "embarrassed" couldn't correctly describe how she felt. Luz reached in her pockets for her glyphs. She put a small stack of them in Amity’s hand and then held onto it firmly before letting go and releasing a bunch of small light orbs into the air above them. 

She said they were the closest she could get to fireflies, since they always came out in the summer. Amity laughed, thinking that fireflies were just another oddly named thing in the human realm. As Amity got back to her feet, regaining her composure, Luz went over to her phone and to play another song. She came back and grasped Amity’s hand and pulled her close. 

She moved her hand to rest on Amity’s waist while Amity’s own hands rested on her shoulders. Amity was careful not to put too much pressure on Luz's injured arm. “I know you don’t know Spanish, but this song was always a favorite of mine. My mom and I used to dance to it while cleaning the house.” Luz began to sway on her feet to the steady rhythm of the music, guiding Amity with her. “We’d pretend that our brooms were microphones and sing along.” She laughed. “It felt wrong to listen to it alone, but hey. You're here, and there are no cleaning supplies but we can still dance.”

Amity only admired Luz quietly. The human girl was faintly singing along while they rocked side to side. Amity’s heart thrummed in her chest. Luz was looking at her softly, but all Amity could think about was how  _ wonderful  _ Luz looked in the light of the moon and the small balls of light. They made her eyes glitter as Amity fell harder and harder. Light glyphs seemed to be Luz’s favorite. It was the first thing she showed to Amity, and she would always carry more light glyphs than anything else. One thing for sure, light was  _ definitely  _ Amity’s favorite spell. The only thing better than the lights above them was Luz herself.

Her voice was so tender, so sweet. Amity felt herself unwinding and falling in time with the music. She wanted to embrace Luz and let the night drag on. She wouldn't care if her mother banished her from the house and stripped her of every privilege she'd grown so used to. As long as this moment never ended, Amity would face whatever punishment came with her parents finding out. 

Luz whispered her name then, bringing Amity back to her senses. She hadn't realized just how lost she'd gotten looking at Luz. The human girl laughed gently after seeing Amity flinch and focus. She said she wanted to teach Amity the little dance that went with the song. It wasn't any formal or official dance, just something Luz and her mother had come up with and always did. Amity didn't agree outright, instead only swallowing. Yet, Luz took her hand and started giving her the instructions anyways.

“Step left, right, right forward then back.” Luz said, keeping an eye on their feet on the ground. When she wasn't guiding their movements, she was humming along with the music. Amity tried hard to match Luz’s steps, soon synchronizing with her. “You caught on quick.” Luz commented, “Must be that Blight ingenuity.”

“Stop it,” Amity chuckled.  _ She’s flirting with me again. _ There was no denying the heat on her face then. Between the music and Luz even  _ bothering _ to teach her how to dance to it, Amity was reduced to abomination goo in the human girl’s hands. 

“I mean it.” Luz looked up at her, no longer watching their feet and suddenly stepping far to the side to turn Amity in a half circle. The light orbs sparkled as they reflected in Luz’s eyes, and Amity got lost in them all too quickly again. She knew she looked far too in love for this moment to be anything but romantic. Luz’s smile only got wider. “Hold onto me.” She said quietly. Amity didn’t object, letting go of Luz’s hand to wrap her arms over her shoulders. 

The music got louder and then stopped. Luz spun her around once, then in time with the sudden silence, and without warning, Luz seemed to drop Amity. There was a twinge of fear, but Amity knew Luz wouldn’t just let her go. She held her ground and let Luz dip her. Amity’s heart started going haywire. Luz was much closer than she’s ever been since Grom. She was holding onto Amity much tighter than she ever has before. Amity was no better, clutching Luz’s hood just to keep mind from exploding into the same untangled mess her heart was in. They were breathing hard from the dance, but Luz was resisting as to not breathe too hard on Amity’s face. It was far too late for the witch though. 

She didn’t even notice her hand slipping from Luz’s collar. Amity’s mind went from calculating to blank as she moved. She could only see her end goal. Her fingers grazed Luz's neck as she pulled her closer. 

Closer... 

She could have sworn Luz was holding her breath. Amity clung tighter to Luz’s hood. The poor girl’s heartbeat was roaring in her ears. Incessant thrumming as if she had just run for miles without a break. Her lip trembled. Her eyes were half open yet fixated on Luz’s mouth. It was just barely agape… waiting…

Their lips scarcely brushed against each other and Amity felt a chill run over her skin. The touch was like a wave of ice cold water, and she was shivering. Realization slammed into her full force. The warmth of the moment, of the dancing, of  _ Luz _ , all escaped her at once.

_ Oh no. _

_ Oh no no no! _

She didn’t move further. By now she was far too scared. The hesitation lasted for far too long. She dared to look up into Luz’s eyes. Her pupils were wide and her breathing was quiet. Both of them stood still for what felt like forever to Amity. She couldn't read Luz’s face in those everlasting moments. Her mind labeled the clouded expression as if she had made a mistake. Her fingers trembled, still against Luz’s face. They were still so close.

“Amity,” Luz whispered. The sound was sudden and muffled. Luz started to stand, bringing Amity with her. Her breath against Amity’s face startled the girl into a full blown panic. Amity’s face burned up quickly and she went red.

“Sorry!” Amity blurted out. She jerked suddenly and fell over as she let go of Luz. “Sorry sorry sorry!” she waved her hands frantically in defense. She staggered to her feet. “Let’s pretend that didn’t happen!” she put her hands on Luz’s shoulders dramatically. She pulled back immediately when Luz winced, leaning her injured arm away from Amity’s grasp. “I don’t know what came over me, aha,” She wiped the dirt from her leggings. “We should get back. You need your rest and I’m sure Ed and Em are waiting for me!” she stepped away from Luz and avoided her gaze.

Luz didn’t really move from where she was standing until Amity had put everything in the bag and started walking away.

_ What is wrong with you?! _ She scolded herself. She only stopped for Luz to catch up but she kept a bit of distance between them.  _ You wanted to wait to know how she felt and then you try to kiss her for the second time! Think before you do something like that! Or at least ask her! She didn’t stop you but she was probably so surprised that you even tried it that she froze. _

Amity tried not to grind her palm into her forehead. She was overwhelmingly humiliated. 

_ Maybe it would have gone over well, but you got scared and ruined it. She’s not making any moves to kiss  _ you. 

_ But she was so close. It almost happened. What excuse could you even have come up with? “I just wanted to see what it was like?” No! This is the second time you’ve tried it. She’s going to get suspicious. _

“Amity,” Luz’s voice broke through to her. 

_ I need to stop thinking so hard, _ Amity sighed and looked at Luz, whose expression was still unreadable.  _ Nope. She is definitely suspicious. _

Luz nodded in front of them. Amity hadn’t even realized they stopped. She saw her siblings looking like they were ready to have a laughing fit at any moment. 

“Right. Uhm,” She looked at Luz briefly, searching her face for  _ anything _ , but the girl only raised an eyebrow. “Here,” she stiffly handed Luz the bag of the stuff they bought. “They said to keep it out of the sun. I’ll see you tomorrow night, maybe. I mean, likely! Because, I like going on walks with you, but you know.  _ Eda _ , and my  _ parents _ ,” she shrugged, looking everywhere but Luz’s face. “We should stay in town though! Not because I think we need to have someone watching us, I kind of like it being just the two of us.” she glanced at Ed and Em, who were smirking at her. “I-I mean! Let’s walk the same route, except avoiding the market, because aha, I can’t spend too much money there, people will get suspicious if I spend so much money on you- you, I mean  _ us _ , because it was for both of us. I bought it for you but we both used it, and, uhm...”

Luz blinked. Amity cleared her throat nervously and Luz took the bag.

“Yeah, okay, I’m gonna,” Amity swallowed. “I’m gonna walk away now.” She stood still for a moment. “Bye!” her voice cracked and she walked away, the tension and fear in her muscles making it seem like she was some sort of doll rather than a person.

Edric and Emira caught up to her and didn’t say anything until they were well away from the Owl House. That was where they both started laughing obnoxiously. Amity face palmed. She already felt like a fool, she didn’t need them laughing at her. She didn’t think  _ anything _ that had just happened was funny. 

“Shut up!” she turned around after minutes had passed and they were still laughing.

They flinched, but their laughter softened into simple chuckles after they took a moment to calm down. 

“It’s  _ not _ funny!” she shouted.

“Of course not.” Emira cleared her throat. “I mean, that was the most composed I’ve ever seen you around her, since you know. Grom.”

Amity’s flush grew worse. In both anger and embarrassment. 

“Relax Mittens! It’s cute.” Edric teased. 

“When we get home you have to tell us  _ all _ about it!” Emira ushered Amity toward the house. When she budged, the twins put on their coven guard disguises and guided her home.

Amity wasted no time going to her room and slamming the door shut. She didn't let the twins inside even though they begged and "apologized" for laughing at her. She told them to scram. When they were gone, she groaned into her hands and fell backwards onto her bed. She wanted to fade into non-existence after that complete blunder.

It was ridiculous! How was she growing more audacious by the day? 

_ No way is Luz going to pretend it didn’t happen.  _

She brushed her fingers over her lip and sunk into her blankets. She replayed the moment in her head then covered her face again.

_ It's going to be much much harder to hide from her. _


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> insert transformers reference and reluctant conversation

Amity walked the halls of Hexside, having grown used to her coven chaperones keeping everyone else at bay. Luz was back at school, no change in personality, but she did not hide the fact that her arm still hurt. At least not very well. Amity felt sympathetic, but ultimately, was reduced to a mess whenever Luz got within arms distance given the chance.

They had still been going on walks, but they didn’t talk nearly as much. Amity was even hesitant when holding Luz’s hand, so Luz didn’t push it. Seeing Luz only reminded her of last week’s events. The  _ almost _ . 

The shot at  _ almost _ confessing everything to Luz through something as simple as a  _ kiss _ . A bold and thoughtless kiss that had Amity’s skin burning up and the hair on her neck standing. Yet, still just a kiss. She told Luz to forget about it, and for some moments it seemed like she did. She never brought it up, nor did she talk about that night at all. 

She mentioned that Amity had bought her the music box once at lunch, but never said what they did with it. She never stumbled over her words like Amity might have, she just didn’t talk about it.

She did, however, look at Amity a little bit longer than usual whenever they got too close or whenever they were alone. As if she was expecting Amity to try again. Which was believable. There was barely any time between Amity’s first two attempts and the witch had since then decided that she wouldn't dare spring upon another chance. Otherwise it would raise suspicion from  _ more  _ than just Luz. If Amity tried again, no doubt Luz would try to pick her apart. Or, that’s what Amity imagined anyways. 

So Amity could only relive that night. It made her excited but terrified at the same time. It  _ haunted _ her. The moment stampeded every other thought she could ever have about Luz. Everything came full circle each time. She couldn’t escape it. She loved every second of that night except for when she backed out at the last minute. She imagined how it could have gone, what would have happened afterwards. She didn’t ask Luz how she felt though. She didn’t want to know. 

Luz never seemed upset about it. A little more withdrawn, but not upset. She still gave Amity the same friendly smile she always did, with the occasional glance here and there that Amity pretended not to notice.

Then there was  _ Willow _ . Every time Amity talked to Luz, she saw Willow out of the corner of her eye giving the two of them a sly smile. Not one like Edric and Emira when they were about to mock her for any little thing. No. Willow knew  _ something _ . She just never said anything.  _ Ever. _ And it drove Amity insane. Whenever she would make eye contact with Amity, Willow would raise her eyebrows and keep the smile. A look that screamed “ _ wouldn’t you like to know? _ ” which felt so out of character for Willow. Amity might have guessed for a second that she was picking up mannerisms from the twins, but she ruled it out. Maybe Willow had just changed a bit since they were friends. That made more sense. 

Since then, Amity had taken the opportunity of her siblings leaving the house on the weekend, to spend time with Luz, Willow, and Gus while the sun was still out. She originally wasn’t going to, so she could focus on school work, but she felt inclined to speak to Willow. Without the guards, Amity was actively searching for any chance to talk to Willow alone, but Luz and Gus were like moths to a flame. Whenever Amity got one second without the two of them being able to overhear, they would come running. They were a trio, so Amity understood why they wouldn’t leave Willow behind for too long. They would end up dragging the both of them off after finding something. 

Finally, after hours of running around Bonesborough, looking for some mysterious figurine Luz and Gus were adamant about purchasing, Willow stopped to look at another stand. As Luz and Gus wandered off, Amity almost looked too excited about the opportunity. She didn’t hesitate to approach Willow then. She wanted to be quick before Luz and Gus came back.

“Willow!” Amity hissed with a weird sense of urgency at her former friend. Willow smiled at her, but drew her attention toward the approaching stand clerk. She was making Amity wait while she pointed at the back of the stand. The clerk brought a small potted plant to her and she set her money on the counter before picking it up.

“Okay,” Willow began to walk away. Amity followed until Willow sat down on the curbside. She looked ahead, and Amity followed her gaze. Luz and Gus were at a stand in sight but far enough away that their shouting was quiet to the sitting witches. The scene of her friends frantically pointing at the confused and slightly frightened store clerk made Willow giggle, and she set her plant down between herself and Amity. Once she folded her hands, she looked at Amity directly. “You want to talk about the kiss?” She asked. “Or, almost kiss, if I remember correctly,”

Amity was trembling. “She told you.” she spoke almost breathlessly.  _ Why did I expect any different? I told her to forget but it was too close of a call! She probably just won't talk about it around me. I'm grateful but…  _

“Luz tells me everything. Well she tells Gus too but he’s not exactly concerned about it. Especially not this. He said he didn’t want to get too involved.”

“What did she tell you?”

“Well,” Willow tapped her chin and looked away to think. “She said you two went for a walk, danced in the forest, and you almost kissed her.” she said simply with a shrug.

“That’s it?” Amity almost deflated.  _ Maybe she did take what I said to heart. Was she embarrassed too? It would explain a few things. _

“Well, no, but I can’t relay it word for word. She told me that it was something you didn't want to talk about. She asked me to keep it a secret between her and I, and friends don't share secrets.”

Amity sighed, holding her hand over her chest.

“But I’m surprised,” Willow went on. “I know you’re kind of…  _ messy _ , around her but what’s holding you back?”

Amity shrugged, playing with her thumbs. “I’m not sure, but when did she tell you? Was she upset? Does she hate me and is just hiding it to spare my feelings?”

“Amity, relax. Luz isn’t like that.” Willow put a hand on Amity’s shoulder. “She told me the morning after, right before I left for school. I can’t really explain how she sounded but I think upset is the wrong word. And no, she doesn’t hate you. I know that very well.”

Amity wanted to pull her hair out.  _ When did Willow get so vague and unhelpful!? _ “Okay, okay, fine. Let’s change the topic. You keep giving me that, that  _ look _ when I talk to Luz! Why?!”

Willow only chuckled.  _ She definitely knows something _ . “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I think your crush is cute though. It’s nice to see you acting less like your parents.” she commented. “But I can hear Luz and Gus shouting our names so I think we should go back to meet with them.”

“But,”

“Come on.” Willow stood up with her plant and walked away. She was being difficult on purpose. Amity just knew it.

_ Friends don’t share secrets huh? What secrets then? What could Luz have possibly told Willow that I didn’t already know? _

Amity didn’t spend much time with that thought. She had denounced any chance of Luz feeling the same long ago, so she assumed Luz just felt awkward but didn’t want to say so.  _ Whatever. Willow  _ is _ better friends with Luz anyways. They probably tell secrets back and forth when no one else is around. I’ll be lucky to get that close to Luz. _ She stopped beside the group. Luz and Gus had found the figurine, and Gus was enthralled with it. Luz made comments about how it was a rare item even in the human realm. She said how she was surprised it was in 'mint condition'. 

_ Did humans scent their figurines? _

Gus had asked the same question aloud, and Luz laughed. 

“No.” she waved a hand dismissively. “At least I don’t.”

She went on about the story behind it, talking about “trucks” and “cars”. Gus was fascinated. Amity and Willow only smiled and listened along. Those things didn’t exist on the Boiling Isles. 

“And his catchphrase is, ‘ _ Autobots! Roll out!’ _ and then, they all turn into vehicles, and start driving toward the task at hand! I would always watch it when it would come on, but I never owned any of the toys.” Luz handed the figurine back to Gus. “Mami said that all of my old toy cars would end up under her feet, and she didn’t want to have any of the same mishaps now that I’m older. But it’s fine, I’ll buy my own Transformers someday.”

“I have no idea what an Autobot is, but I know I need to know more!” Gus held the figurine up and gawked at it.

“Eda probably has some comic books in her trash collection. Or she burned them,” Luz thought out loud. “I’ll ask her when I get home today. Oh! And then! We can marathon all of the shows and movies! It  _ is _ the weekend after all!” Luz winked and pointed at Gus. 

“Yes!” Gus cheered, throwing his arms in the air. “I’ve always wanted to partake in a human marathon!” Luz replied saying that it was a different type of marathon, which spurred Gus’s further amazement about there being more than one type of marathon.

They wandered around the town for a little longer, window shopping and idly chatting, save for Amity, until they finally reached Willow’s house. The trio had originally planned to stop back at Willow's house closer to the day’s end. Luz had invited Amity the day prior, saying it would be good for them all to start hanging out as friends. Amity would have followed them inside, but she knew that there were some rules her parents made that she couldn’t break. Not to mention she and Willow were  _ not _ on a “hanging out at home” basis. Not even if  _ Luz  _ was there too.

Luz, of course, noticed Amity lingering behind. She stopped on the steps and looked back at her.

“Are you going home?” Luz asked, keeping Amity from walking away just yet. 

Amity turned back around slowly. “Uh, maybe. I have to go find Edric and Emira first.” 

“Oh okay, but before you go,” Luz closed the door to Willow’s house and walked up to her. “About our book club. Just hear me out,” Luz held out her hands, keeping Amity quiet. She kept her eye on the witch for just a moment before bouncing on her toes and clasping her hands together. “Sleepover!” she squealed with excitement. 

“Luz,” Amity started, ready to deny the invitation.

“It’s been a little over a week since we bought that case from the Night Market! I wanna see what’s inside before it probably maybe goes away and I want you to be there with me!” Luz went on and took a step closer to her. When Amity didn’t answer, Luz’s enthusiasm dwindled. She pouted and gave her best pleading eyes. Amity leaned back, trying to regulate her heartbeat, before smiling. 

“Okay. I’ll tell Ed and Em.” Amity nodded gently. “For four hundred snails it better be worth it.” she joked, raising an eyebrow at Luz. 

Luz cheered and leaped forward to hug Amity tightly. “It’ll be so great! I can’t wait! See you tomorrow night!” she let go and ran into Willow’s house waving. 

After the door shut Amity was reeling, emotionally, from the contact. She held a grip over her heart to calm herself down. Luz was so  _ touchy _ even when she was keeping her distance. Amity shook her head clear of any lingering doubts and left the building to search for her siblings. 

. . .

Amity stared at the clothes she lined up for her sleepover with Luz. The human girl said they would have so much fun, so she wanted to be prepared. She’d never slept at the Owl House before. They’ve spent nights at the library, albeit accidentally since they’d lost track of time, and Luz and Willow had spent the night at her house weeks ago, but this was just Luz and Amity. In  _ Luz’s _ house. 

She held her hand up to her mouth, her other arm crossed over her chest.  _ Ed and Em said they would take me, but I have to make sure I let them know when I’m ready to come home.  _

_Easy enough._ _I guess anyways. If everything goes well I might never even want to come home._ The thought made her chuckle. _I could definitely spend my whole life with her. I'd just have to tell her._

She pulled a bag over her shoulder. It was larger than her usual one, only because it held her clothes, a stack of healing glyphs, some nail polish, and the Azura book they never finished reading. Amity had hesitantly packed it. She was surprised Luz never went to the library to grab it. She wasn’t sure if it was because Luz didn’t want to breach her personal space, or if she simply wanted Amity to keep it. 

It didn’t matter. Amity was already out of her room at this point. She was excited but nervous for this night. Last night Luz had told her to come over early. For whatever reason, she’ll never know, but Ed and Em didn’t mind. 

They said that they had other plans and wouldn’t stay to tease her this time. They kept well on that statement and branched off from her when they reached the town. Amity had her suspicions on their plans, whether it would get them all in trouble or if it was just their regular shenanigans worried her. Both of those worries were washed away when the Owl Lady opened the door. 

“Luz, your friend is here.” she called into the house. There was quite the clamor following, but Eda looked Amity sternly. “Come on in,” she stepped aside. 

Amity held onto her bag tightly. She looked around the Owl House. It had the same feel it always did, but it felt… different somehow. With a simple glance to her right, she saw Lilith reading on the couch. Amity tensed immediately. She didn’t know how to feel about Lilith anymore. They were never close but she was aware of Luz’s subtle distaste for the woman.  _ Luz mentioned many times before that she's only being civil toward Lilith, only because of her last minute decision to help. I don't think she'll warm up to her any time soon. _

Amity herself held a smidge of admiration for her former mentor. Lilith  _ was _ a powerful witch. Or used to be.

Luz came into view then, sliding into the living room doorway in nothing but her regular clothes and socks. “Amity!” she ran over and squeezed Amity tightly. It was as if she hadn’t seen Amity in years. Amity returned the hug, but not as tightly. Luz gave a small shout of excitement and let Amity go. “I’m so excited! I have so much fun stuff planned that we can do before the moon rises!”

“Luz,” Eda spoke up, hand on her hip. “I don’t want you getting into any trouble, do you hear?” 

“Pssh, Eda. You know me better than that!” Luz waved a hand cockily. She turned to Amity then and winked. Her heart stuttered when Luz turned back around.

“I do, which is exactly why I’m warning you.” She pointed at Luz sternly. “If you go on another one of your walks I’d like you to return home without an injury please.”

“I’m tough as nails!” Luz said in some sort of… mock “pirate” voice.

“I’m serious, Luz.” Eda crossed her arms.

Luz’s cocky smile faltered. “If we go out tonight I’ll come home safe, I promise.”

Eda held her stern look before smiling and messing up Luz’s hair. 

“Alright let’s go,” Luz grabbed Amity’s hand and pulled her upstairs to her room. 

“Does Eda not know about the thing we bought?” Amity asked, setting her bag down by the chest in Luz’s room. 

“No.” Luz turned around from closing the door, looking serious. “She would kill me if she found out I went to the Night Market!” 

_ You and me both. _ Amity thought. “So are we going to have to sneak out?”

“Well, we’ll just have to wait and see. I wanted you to come over early so we can do something other than this,” Luz moved a stack of clothes to pat the case they'd bought a week before. She covered it back up though and walked over to Amity. 

“Oh, well, I brought the Azura book.” Amity opened her bag, revealing its contents. “And some other things.” 

Luz sat next to her, gasping. “Is that nail polish!? Let’s paint each other’s nails!”

Amity smiled softly. Luz could light up any room she was in, even when the sun was out. She carefully took out the small box of polishes she owned. There weren’t many, but Luz was ecstatic anyways. 

Amity wasn't too keen on redoing her own nails, they were still in good shape. So instead, she sat down and offered for Luz to pick a color. The taller girl hummed and stared at her options. Amity figured she would pick something bright and cheerful, it would be fitting for her. But Luz chose a sparkling wine purple. It was the color Amity used before she settled with black as an end all color, when she wasn't fully committed to the "aloof emo" look. She uncapped the polish and gently took Luz’s hand. She was surprised a little, noticing that Luz’s hands were bigger than her own, yet just as delicate. 

She thought back on all of the times they've held hands, and wanted to flush at the thought of just how small Amity's hands looked in comparison. 

Pushing the thought away, she focused back on painting Luz’s nails. The wet polish was shining gorgeously in the sunlight coming from the window. Amity, now repeating the motions on Luz's other hand, noticed that Luz was really quiet. While it was a comfortable silence, Amity felt there was something Luz wanted to talk about. She was gazing so intently at her hand, but her eyes flickered toward Amity every so often. Amity wanted to pretend like she didn't notice, but it was hard not to.

She stopped painting and looked straight at Luz with a raised eyebrow and a small smile. “Something you wanna say?” she asked gently, genuinely curious about what could be running through the girl's head.

Luz looked away for a moment, but shook her head. “I don’t wanna break your focus.” she murmured. Amity looked at her for only a second longer. She doubted Luz’s words, but didn’t press any further. At least, not until she was done painting Luz’s nails. She put the cap on the nail polish away and sat facing Luz, who was admiring her freshly painted nails. “You did such a good job! I expected no less but I just,  _ wow _ .” Luz smiled as he held her hands out.

“Did you…” Amity changed the subject abruptly, turning to put the nail polish back in its box. “Tell Willow about last week?” she looked up, holding the box on her lap. Whatever Luz might have been thinking about, was either brought back or completely shoved away by Amity's question, if the look on her face was any indication of a mood shift.

Luz’s smile went away as soon as she met Amity’s eye. “Yeah,” she put her hands down and sat in a butterfly position. “I couldn’t  _ not _ tell her. She’s my best friend and… I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I know you probably wanted to just keep it between us, sorry.”

“It’s okay, I just wanted to know.” Amity waved her hand gently.  _ At least she's being honest about it. I'd rather she tell Willow than anyone else.  _ Luz looked at the ground for a little, drawing a circle with her finger on her sleeping bag. Amity used the lack of conversation to turn around and put the box back into her bag. 

“And I know you don’t wanna talk about it,” Luz started talking again.

“I don’t.” Amity said without thinking, ready to close the bag.  _ Not for the reason you might think. _ “But, let’s change the subject.”

“Did you have fun at least?”

“Of course I did.” she looked at Luz. She turned around, leaving her bag open, and pulled her knees to her chest. “I just didn’t want to keep Edric and Emira waiting. They like the idea of being my fake guards, so I don’t wanna ruin it for them but making them wait forever for me. It’s their chance at freedom, even if they aren’t grounded anymore.”

Luz hesitated. She opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything else. What Amity said wasn't a complete lie. Had she kissed Luz, she would make her brother and sister wait  _ forever _ . But she didn't kiss Luz, and there were giant unanswered questions between the two of them. She didn't want to stay in that spot and answer those questions. It would mortify her. 

With a deep breath after moments of silence, Amity pulled out the Azura book. “Do you want to finish reading?” she offered. Luz looked up and grinned, crawling to sit next to her.  _ Close _ to her. The girl had wrapped her arms around Amity’s torso and leaned her head on her shoulder. Amity swallowed and opened the book to where they had left off. She didn’t have the energy to read with as much enthusiasm as Luz, and this was so much different from reading to the kids at the library. 

By the time she’d reached the end of the book, Luz was leaning even more into her. Amity wanted to throw the book and embrace her back. Call it night and never let go. Instead, Amity closed the book normally and leaned back against the chest in Luz’s room with a soft exhale. She let her eyes drift toward the window, staring at the darkening sky. Luz huddled closer to Amity, humming as if she was content enough to fall asleep.

“Luz, the moon,” she put the book down. Luz looked up and gasped. Seemingly wide awake now, to Amity's withheld distaste, Luz jumped to her feet. 

“Oh my gosh! Okay! Let’s go!” she tripped over Amity’s bag and almost fell running over to get out the case. She put on her shoes and set it down in front of Amity. “I’m so excited!” she squealed. She wiped one hand over the top of the case to brush off the dust and a mysterious symbol appeared on the surface. It looked like a mirror with some sort of fog around the handle and a crack on the face.

“Was this made by someone in the illusion coven?” Amity asked out loud, to which Luz responded with an unsure hum and a shrug. Luz opened it and it was pitch black. It was as if the case was holding a void inside. Confused, Luz picked it up, but there was nothing underneath, just the floorboards. 

She stuck her hand inside curiously, and it seemed to reach until her shoulder touched the case. Then, she gasped. “I feel something!”

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure,” Luz winced, reaching farther. “I can’t get a hold on it yet, but it’s smooth, with ridges. I think it’s made of glass?” 

Amity sat up, trying to peer into the case, but since Luz’s entire arm was inside, it was hard.  _ I don’t know what I expected _ . She thought bitterly.

“I got it!” Luz shouted. She started pulling but then fell over as if something was pulling back. 

Amity, startled, stood behind Luz and helped her pull until the human girl’s arm came out of the case. A black fog followed and there seemed to be some sort of sizzling and a whisper coming from the case. Bothered, Amity closed it. “What did you find?” she turned to Luz.

“A compass?” Luz said, uncertain. It certainly looked like a compass. It had a small glass dome with silver spiral decals on top and around it. The dark fog from inside the case was clouding the inside of the smaller compass-like object. Luz blew on the lid and the fog sparked. It seemed like there was a small storm inside of it, with lightning and thunder, but it faded away shortly after. 

“Woah,” both girls whispered, staring wide eyed at the object. Amity had never bought anything from the Night Market. This type of magic was unknown to her. When the fog cleared completely and the last few sparks died down, there was nothing but a white base and a few perpendicular notches. Luz scrunched her nose and sat back.

“This is bogus,” she muttered, standing up. Amity stood up with her and watched her tilt it around. She saw a sliver of color as Luz turned into the moonlight and reached out to take it from Luz.

“No, look!” she held it in front of the moonlight. “It’s a moon compass!”

“That’s so cool!” Luz exclaimed excitedly. Then she paused. “What is that?”

Amity looked out the window, and held the compass outside farther into the moonlight. A shiny dark blue needle with a crescent at its opposite end finally showing its face as it pointed outside of the house toward the visible forest. “It’s like a compass, but it only works when in moonlight. They’re hard to come by and they’re rumored to lead to something you don’t know you need.” 

“Like what?” 

“I’m not sure,” Amity stepped back from the window and watched the needle disappear from sight.  _ I don’t know what I need, but I’m not sure if I want it right now. _ “They're only rumors. I’ve never read any stories on what people actually find.”

“We should follow it!” Luz stepped closer to Amity.

“We don’t know where it’ll lead,”

“All the more reason to go find out!” Luz snapped her fingers and pointed at Amity. 

Amity had a lot of concerns with agreeing with Luz. They had promised Eda they would come home if they went for a walk, but this was likely going to be much longer than a few hours. This could lead them to the shore, into town, or maybe even the bottom of a bottomless pit!

_ No that’s outrageous.  _

But Amity couldn’t deny that she  _ was _ curious herself.  _ And _ she did say she would go on this adventure.  _ And _ she did spend four hundred snails on this thing. It would be a waste of money  _ not _ to use it. “Alright.” she returned Luz’s adventurous smirk. 

“Woo!” Luz threw her arms into the air and cheered. “We have to go before the sun comes out.” she put her hands on Amity’s shoulders, getting in her face.

“What about our stuff?”

“I’ll bring my glyphs,” Luz backed up and opened her chest. Amity thought she would only keep clothes in there, but lo and behold Luz pulled out a small pouch and carefully tucked a bunch of papers inside of it. Then she pulled the pouch over herself and secured it around her waist. “Just in case.”

“I have healing glyphs in my bag, you should bring those too.”

Luz nodded and searched Amity’s bag until she found the glyphs. She tucked them into her pouch as well and stepped past Amity to crawl out the window. Amity hesitated, but followed. She didn’t bother reasoning why they were going through the window and not the front door, and instead summoned an abomination hand to carry them to the ground below. Luz looked behind them toward the door then waved for the two of them to head into the forest. She said it was so they didn’t get the house demon’s attention. 

When they were far enough away, Amity looked at the compass up again. It was blank again. “What the?” she brought it closer to her face before holding it out again and tilting it around. The needle wasn’t showing at all.  _ Does it just disappear once you found what you needed? All I did was climb out a stupid window! _

“What’s wrong?” Luz slowed her pace to walk beside Amity.

“It’s gone.” Amity tried holding it directly in the moonlight again but it didn’t reappear. “Maybe there was information missing from the book I read about these.” She grunted.

“Let me see.” Luz held out her hand. Amity sighed sharply and gave the compass up to Luz. As soon as it was out of Amity’s hold, the compass returned. It pointed straight into the woods just like it had when Amity was holding it. Luz pumped a fist into the air and pointed in the same direction as the compass. “Lets go!”

Amity wondered for a second why it didn’t appear in her hand, but she didn’t dwell on it. Luz had already taken off following it excitedly. 

Amity jogged to catch up with Luz. This part of the woods seemed to grow bigger every time she walked through them. She eyed the compass in Luz’s hands. The small blue needle wavered every so often and would sometimes jolt and turn, leading them both through unknown territory. Well, unknown to her. Luz seemed very confident in the way they were walking. So confident, that she wasn’t even watching where she was watching. She’d stumbled more than once and almost ran into a tree. Amity wasn’t much better, but she looked up just in time. She inhaled sharply and snatched the back of Luz’s shirt quickly and yanked her back, pulling a surprised yell from the taller girl. “Yowza wowza,” Luz muttered, staring down over the cliff side that she almost walked off. The island seemed to just split and a steaming river flowed at the bottom. 

_ Since when was this here?  _ Amity thought with a heavy lump in her throat.  _ We need to be more careful. _ She looked at Luz, who had the compass in one hand as she searched through her waist pouch with the other. She pulled out one of her glyphs and smiled at Amity.

“These never fail to come in handy,” she set it on the ground and tapped with her shoe. The ground rumbled and soon a few large vines erupted from their side of the ravine and stretched across to drill into the other cliffside. It was just wide enough for them to cross, seemingly one at a time, though Amity had her concerns. Luz gave Amity a reassuring look before holding her hand out. 

Amity looked down at Luz's hand before hesitantly taking hold of it. Luz guided them both across carefully but confidently. The bridge sank a little under their combined wright and Amity forced herself to keep her eyes on Luz’s hand and not the rising mist below them. Once finally on the other side, Luz brought out the compass again. She seemed very focused on it as she pulled Amity along still. It was kind of cute. 

_ I wonder what she’s hoping to find _ . Amity smiled to herself. She often wondered what made the human girl tick, or what she thought about. To Amity, Luz was so intriguing. The girl would talk so openly about the things she enjoyed, but she wasn’t a completely open book. For someone so bubbly and extroverted, Luz had her own mystery around her. And it drew Amity in like a baby trash slug on a fish hook.

She retook her place beside Luz after she stopped Luz from tripping and falling, again. The moon was barely at its highest point in the sky when Amity looked up, and she sighed and stepped closer to Luz unconsciously.  _ This is just like our regular walks. Quiet, comfortable. _ She leaned into Luz some, matching her stride step for step.  _ If I ever needed anything, it wouldn’t compare to this moment. This is all I could wish for.  _

Amity was so content, she was hardly aware of Luz’s gentle humming and the way the human girl tapped on her fingers. 'Hardly' as in they were adding to the witch’s comfort. She was even less conscious of how hand holding turned into Amity hanging onto Luz’s arm.

They had walked for hours, the moon having shifted past being directly above them. Or, that’s what it seemed like. It was covered by a thick fog that darkened the forest around them. “Rats!” Luz shouted, spooking Amity out of her smitten stupor. “It’s gone!” 

Amity blinked at the compass, barely visible without the moon’s additional light, then she looked up at the sky again. She recognized the clouds to not be any sign of rain, so she wasn’t worried. “It will pass soon.” she muttered and pulled away from Luz reluctantly. “They look thin enough.”

Luz took out a light glyph and illuminated the area around them. It wasn’t a super strong light, but it was enough. “Where even are we?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s probably higher up. It’s getting cold.”

“We could have a campfire!” Luz exclaimed and turned to Amity quickly. “This is  _ exactly _ the type of adventure I’ve always wanted to go on! Uncertainty at every turn, chilling breeze, warm campfire, and  _ magic _ !” she seemed to sing the last word. Amity smiled briefly at her excitement, but the growing chill around her pulled it away just as quickly.

“We should probably find some sort of shelter, we don’t really know what could be out here.” She held her arms around herself.  _ Good idea not bringing a jacket. _ She scolded herself mentally. 

“Nah, I think it’s fine. I don’t hear anything.” Luz waved a hand dismissively and held up her light glyph to look around. Amity wanted to say that witches probably have more sensitive hearing than humans, but she kept it to herself. Besides, Luz had a point. The forest  _ was _ awfully quiet. Not even the trees or bushes were rustling from any breeze or fauna. Though it didn’t keep Amity from rubbing the sleeves of her sweater as her shivering got worse.

“Luz,” Amity looked around, spotting a fog that seeped closer to them through the trees.

“Yeah?” Luz turned around. Amity felt unsafe standing in place. Her skin pricked with a smidge of anxiety. She tried to convince herself that she wasn’t  _ that _ scared but her body betrayed her, and she started trembling. 

“I  _ really _ think we should leave.” she urged, unable to keep her voice from shaking. Luz seemed to be  _ fine _ and that was what worried Amity the most. 

“Are you cold?” Luz walked over and held the light glyph closer to Amity. Worry was heavy on her voice.

“You’re not?” Amity shuddered, furrowing her eyebrows at what she thought was a stupid question. Cold didn’t begin to describe how she felt. She was surprised Luz wasn’t shivering as well, she was wearing  _ lighter _ clothes than Amity was. 

Luz shook her head. She reached out and touched Amity’s cheek. The warmth of her hand felt foreign and it  _ hurt _ a little. Luz’s hand barely stuck to Amity’s quickly paling skin before the taller girl gasped and flinched away. “You’re freezing!” 

“You  _ think? _ ” Amity snapped. 

“No I mean you’re actually freezing!” she stuffed the compass into her pouch, pulling out a number of glyphs in its place. Tapping them each, she reached toward Amity. Her heart lurched when she saw the small flames begin to ignite on the paper.

“Don’t! You’re gonna burn me!”  _ You’re gonna burn us both! You can’t just  _ hold  _ fire! _

“I promise I won’t.” Luz insisted while Amity tried her hardest to get away. Her entire body fought each movement she tried to make.

The ground underneath them both started to rumble. It cracked loudly and shifted. The movement knocked Luz off her feet and she fell into Amity, pressing the glyph onto her hand as Amity tried to redirect it. It was a relieving warmth at first, but as Luz grabbed Amity’s hand tighter to stabilize herself, the glyph burned them both. 

Each girl let out a shrill cry of pain, and looking down Amity saw that Luz was right. She was freezing solid. She couldn’t do much, cold as she was. “Luz!” Amity hissed, fear overtaking her composure. 

“Don’t worry!” Luz held onto Amity’s shoulder with her unburnt hand. The fog started to dissipate, as if falling downhill. Luz managed to grab a rock that didn’t fall along with everything else and she struck the ice around Amity’s feet until the girl was free. “Come on!”

Amity shivered and trudged forward. She didn’t have much energy to keep up with Luz. Her breath came out in clouds as Luz tried to help her along. Both of them stopped when they realized they were higher than they used to be. Luz’s scream did little to calm Amity’s own fears. Looking up, she saw red beady eyes staring at them from above. 

She heard a loud hiss and tensed. She grabbed Luz’s hand and, with a sudden burst of strength to fight the resistance from her muscles, yanked her to the side. Something sharp shot out toward them from the mist. The ground splintered beneath where it was struck and shook the surrounding area. White smoke emitted from it as it pulled itself back. There was a sizzling sound on the ground and Amity could make out the icy resemblance of a snake’s tongue as it recoiled back into the mist. Amity shrieked as she pulled Luz away again. The red eyes were following them, and the dagger-like tongue continued to strike. Amity could barely see through the moonless sky, and each step she took tried to freeze her to the spot and each time 

“What is that thing?” Luz shouted, running with Amity through the trees away from the loud hissing behind them.

“I have no idea!” Amity replied, looking back. The tongue struck again and the ground beneath them cracked. Both girls stumbled and Amity saw a sudden drop off as the ground grew steeper. “Stop stop stop!” she screamed, trying to dig her heels into the ground to slow down.

“I can’t! I’m sliding!” Luz cried out before slamming hard into Amity’s back, sending both girls off the icy ground and into a free fall. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity's nerves + Adventure = ???

The ground was farther than Amity imagined. They were falling faster and faster by the second. 

She was certain they were gonna land hard on the ground to their inevitable demise, but Luz had gripped her shirt and pulled her toward her. She held onto Amity’s waist securely and triggered one of her plant glyphs with an ice glyph. A large vine exploded from the paper and encased the two of them in some sort of protective sphere. Amity watched ice cover the outside of the vines and block out the remaining light. Luz turned to fully wrap around Amity, cradling her head in her chest just before the abrupt crash that sent them both landing hard against the vine. Amity listened to the ice crack and shatter, a few shards even slipping through the vines and hitting the two of them. They tumbled inside the vines until an opening split and they were thrown out of it. The vines had broken the majority of their fall, but they were still rolling downhill. Landing hard on the ground, Amity heard Luz grunt and let go. They rolled down the rest of the hill and slid to a stop underneath the trees. 

Struggling to sit up, Amity looked toward the beast in the sky. It looked like some sort of large snake, but it grew wings and took off. The pseudo-forest on its back discarding a few trees. For only a moment did she consider asking Luz about it, but that thought followed with immediate panic. Amity stood quickly, nerves making the world shudder as it spun around her. She winced and gave a quiet whimper as her leg threatened to give out underneath her, but she forced herself to stay standing. She scanned the area for Luz frantically. It was dark, far too dark. The clouds hadn’t moved far from the moon and Amity could barely see through the shade of the trees. But a sliver of moonlight rested upon a familiar figure, and Amity recognized the white of Luz’s shoes enough to find her still lying on the ground. 

Amity half limped over to her. “Luz!” She nearly collapsed to her knees beside her. Luz didn’t respond, and for a moment, Amity held her breath. She struggled to turn Luz onto her back and press her ear against her chest. The human’s heartbeat was faint, but it was enough to ease some of Amity’s panic.

But the heartbeat seemed to dwindle the longer Amity listened. Her hearing felt muffled and the pressure in her head and chest increased. She moved to look at Luz’s unconscious face. Amity wasn’t sure if it was fear that was making her shake so violently, but she held a hand against Luz’s cheek. Tears threatened to fall, but she leaned her head down and pressed her forehead against Luz’s. She waited and waited, but didn’t move until she heard Luz inhale. 

Amity sat up immediately and pulled her hands back. Luz groaned quietly and rolled onto her side, facing away from Amity. The witch watched with bated breath as Luz finally sat up. Slowly, Luz turned to face her. She was swaying, most likely reeling the same way Amity had when she first got up, and had a nauseated look on her face.

“Luz! Are you okay?” Amity rasped and reached out once more to grasp Luz’s face. 

“I’m fine.” Luz slowly lifted her own hand and patted Amity’s. “Are you okay?” She lifted her eyes to meet Amity’s. 

Amity stared at her. The dirt and scrapes on Luz’s face made her queasy. The ringing in her ears was obnoxious and her mind was swamped with the ‘what ifs’ of the fall, of Luz not waking up. She took a sharp breath and stood up. She turned away from Luz and tried to get her bearings.  _ It’s okay. Luz is alive. You’re both alive. She’s safe. Maybe bruised but she’s safe. _ Amity started pacing unconsciously. She was just about ready to start crying until something grabbed her sleeve and pulled her back. 

She lifted her head and looked at Luz. She searched the girl’s concerned brown eyes to find any sort of indication that Luz was actually _not_ okay, which would send Amity into a coddling frenzy. But Luz’s gaze softened, and she brushed her thumb along Amity’s face, tucking a stray hair past her ear. “You’re pretty with your hair down.” she smiled. 

Amity had a lapse of thought. For a split second she couldn’t think. Overwhelmed with relief, that her Luz was still cheesy and  _ alive _ , she darted forward and gave her a hug. She resisted sobbing, but tears still managed to fall from her eyes. She gave a weak and fearful laugh.

“What, did you think I died?” Luz chuckled, patting Amity’s back.

“Yes!” Amity held her back. “I told you I would protect you!”

“It’s okay Amity, it’s no big deal. I’ve had worse falls anyways.” Luz wiped the tears from Amity’s face softly.

Amity barely smiled. Part of her was trembling from the adrenaline and the chill, but she was slowly calming down. She was laughing gently, since Luz’s comment was silly compared to the situation. But she was okay. Or, that was what Amity was decided on until she saw something dark drip down Luz’s elbow. She grasped Luz’s wrist and extended her arm. Luz barely winced and Amity remembered that this was Luz’s previously injured arm, but the stench of blood recaptured her attention. There was a thin cut along the back of Luz’s arm. It wasn’t drastic, Luz would definitely survive, but Amity was already far too interested in fixing it. “Where are the healing glyphs?” Amity asked quickly.

Luz felt around her waist for the pouch, but conveniently, it had fallen off. She squinted and looked around, finally spotting it stuck in a tree. Amity followed her gaze and growled in frustration. The zipper was glowing in the returning moonlight. She let go of Luz’s arm and spun her finger in a circle to summon an abomination, only for the circle to spark and sizzle out. A sharp pain circled her wrist and she grunted in pain.  _ Isn’t that perfect? _ She thought bitterly. She stared at the pouch. It wasn’t  _ too _ high up, but without any sort of boost, neither of them would be able to grab it. 

She brushed her hair back in frustration. “I can’t use my magic.” she muttered. “Don’t you carry glyphs in your pockets?” she faced Luz. Luz reached into her pockets, but only managed to find a singular glyph.  _ That’s it?! _

“It’s a plant glyph, I can use it to get up there at least.”

“No,” Amity shook her head. “You might make it worse. Your cut I mean. I’ll get the pouch, and you stay here.”

Luz gave a disappointed and slightly irked look, but gave the paper to Amity anyways. She walked over to the tree and placed the glyph on the ground. She activated it with her foot and a vine sprouted from it. Amity backed up, startled, and the vine fell onto the tree. The weight shifted it and shook the pouch free from its branches. Amity ran over quickly to catch it before it hit the ground. 

She gave a huge sigh of relief and opened the pouch. There weren’t many healing glyphs left, but she pulled out a few. She stood next to Luz and lifted the human girl’s sleeve enough to see the wound. It wasn’t too bad, but it was still bleeding. The sight shouldn’t have upset Amity as much as it did, it was basically a longer and slightly wider paper cut. She hesitantly placed the healing glyph on top of it. Luz cringed, inhaling sharply through her teeth as if the contact of the glyph burned. 

“I should have brought my first aid kit… I had bandages in there.” Amity let go of Luz’s arm. Luz gave a weak flex, but the wound was closing. At least for the most part. The glyph would only heal it half way in the beginning. The rest of the healing would take time. If either of them, well mainly Amity, knew any healing spells, it would have been much faster. Healing spells were much better than glyphs. But they would have to settle with what they had now.

“I doubt it would have fit in the fanny pack.” Luz gave a low effort smile. “Besides, this is enough. It’s only one injury. Or at least the only one that’s bleeding.” she lifted a hand to wave Amity off a little. Amity didn’t move though. She stared at Luz’s hand, the obvious sign of being burnt still apparent. She looked at her own hand, a similar scarring ready to take place. “Oh,” Luz looked at her hand then at Amity. “Sorry about that too. It wasn’t supposed to burn us. I promise.”

“No, it’s fine.” Amity said gently, peeling off two more healing glyphs and sticking them to their hands. “It wasn’t your fault. We were falling, and I was the one who grabbed your hand.” she took hold on Luz’s hand. The healing glyph  _ did _ have a burning feeling, but that meant it was working. Maybe they weren’t supposed to be applied directly to skin. Both girls winced but the pain didn’t last long.

Luz smiled again, lightly intertwining her fingers with Amity’s. “How is your first Luz adventure?” she asked, pulling their hands toward her. Amity followed, and blinked at Luz. Luz’s hand was radiating a lot of warmth.

Amity chuckled.  _ There she goes again, trying to lighten the mood _ . “A  _ mess _ ,” she looked at Luz softly, “But it’s kind of fun.” The notion made Luz smile wide. 

“Then let’s keep going!” Luz declared. She let go of Amity's hand and gestured upward. “The moon is out again, and,”

“We should rest.” Amity interrupted and pulled out another glyph. “I’m having fun but after that, I’m still cold, and my leg hurts.” she stuck the glyph onto her leg. The pain seemed to subdue with the glyph. She let out a small sigh of relief. 

Luz blinked down at her. “Alright, we can have a campfire and try again tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow,” Amity muttered absentmindedly. “Oh Titan! Ed and Em are going to kill me!” she twirled her finger to summon her scroll. The spell circle jittered and fizzled but her scroll unfolded in front of her hands. Ed and Em had told her to keep in contact, and she’d done quite the opposite. “Will we be back at the Owl House by morning?” she asked Luz without looking for her.

“I doubt it.” Luz replied nonchalantly. Amity turned around to see Luz using her good arm to pull a few branches off trees, even if she looked a little silly doing so. Amity was less than amused however. How could Luz be so calm? “Sometimes I make it home during the night, but since we  _ left _ during the night, we’ve still got like an entire day to make the most of this adventure!”

Amity swallowed.  _ I can just be upfront with them. They’ll understand. I’ll just warn them ahead of time _ . She decided, texting her siblings that she’ll be longer than anticipated. She stared at the scroll while Luz broke the branches into smaller portions and threw them on the ground. She used one or two fire glyphs to get the fire started. Amity closed her messages and reopened them. Emira was  _ horrible _ at texting, but out of her and Edric, she was the only one to reply. 

_ “Alright Mittens, don’t get carried away.” _ Emira had sent back. Amity forced her scream of bashfulness to stay in her head. Emira was  _ infuriating _ sometimes. What exactly did she think Amity was up to? Setting up a romantic dinner date in the comfort of Luz’s bedroom? With her mentor, her mentor’s sister, their pet, and that  _ horrid _ house demon all within earshot? 

_ Who does she take me for? A fool? _

Her scroll rolled back up and poofed away and she sighed, moving closer to the campfire. “Okay, I told Ed and Em that we’d be out longer than morning.” Amity looked up, but Luz was nowhere to be seen. “Luz?”  _ Did she follow the compass while I was distracted? _ “Luz!?” she called again, standing up.  _ Darn it Luz! You’re not invincible! _ “Luz!” Amity cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted again. The sound of snapping wood was her reply.

“Yeah?” Luz’s voice followed. It was farther than Amity would have liked, but she didn’t sound like she was in danger.

“Where  _ are _ you?” 

Luz took a moment to respond. There were faint footsteps, the rustling of leaves, then a loud yelp and within moments, she was running back to the fire. She nearly jumped onto Amity as she hid behind her, and some sort of beast could be heard beyond their little camping space, but it didn’t dare step into the light. White eyes reflected the fire and circled them before disappearing all together. The beast could be heard leaving the area with fading heavy footsteps.

“What were you doing?” Amity asked when Luz relaxed and stepped in front of her, holding a giant branch.

“I was going to see if I could find us some food.” Luz shrugged.

“ _ Alone!?” _ Amity’s hands balled into fists. She wouldn’t hit Luz, but she had to hold her frustration in somewhere.

“You’re still cold!” Luz pointed at Amity defensively. Amity took a moment to look at herself, only to see that she  _ was _ indeed still shivering, but she didn’t think it was so bad that Luz couldn't have warned her. “I left the fire so you could warm up! I didn’t bring anything for us to eat so I might as well go look for something.”

Amity could only see genuine concern in Luz’s eyes. It was true that she would be little help, especially when she was still recovering from the freezing cold of whatever that beast was. She held her tongue and closed her eyes.  _ She’s such an idiot. Titan, give me patience. _ She sighed heavily and looked at the ground.  _ Am I being overprotective? _ She thought to herself, sitting down and holding her knees to her chest.  _ Luz isn’t weak and helpless. She’s stronger physically without magical ability, I should trust her to take care of herself. But what if she got even more hurt because she’s just wandering around carelessly? _

“Sorry for running off,” Luz apologized quietly, sitting next to Amity. “I don’t want to ruin our fun by simple mishap.”

“It’s fine.” Amity whispered back with a shrug and stared into the fire. She didn’t want to make the situation any worse by letting her emotions get the best of her. It wouldn’t do either of them any good. She just needed time to relax.

“It’s not  _ fine _ .” Luz replied quickly, an edge to her voice. “I know you don’t think it’s fine. If you want me to stop doing something just tell me.”

“I’m not going to tell you to do anything,” Amity didn’t meet Luz’s eyes, even if she knew the girl was staring at her.

“Then stop  _ lying _ to me.”

“Lying?” Amity shot Luz an incredulous glare. “What makes you think I’m lying to you?”

“No one ever says things are fine and means it! Eda says I’m reckless and naïve all the time.” Luz rubbed her arm. “You say its fine every time something goes wrong, just… tell me the truth.”

Amity chewed her lip. Instead of answering, she looked away toward the fire. “There’s nothing to tell.” she faced away from Luz again, not wanting to argue.

“You’re lying again,”

“How would you know?” she quipped.

“Because! You sound scared whenever I do something!”

Amity winced. There  _ was _ truth in that. 

“If you’re afraid of something tell me, I want to make sure you’re not afraid while we’re out here.”

“I’m…” Amity hesitated. “I’m not afraid of anything.”

“Amity.”

“ _ Maybe, _ I’m afraid that you’re going to get hurt again, okay?” She said sharply, glaring into the fire. “I don’t want you getting hurt. Not when I can stop it.”

“I can handle a little pain, I’m  _ not _ fragile.”

“You do a  _ lot _ of stupid things, though.” Amity muttered bitterly. “I mean, you almost walked off a  _ cliff _ for Titan’s sake. And then there was the falling and you weren’t answering me,” Amity inhaled through her teeth, struggling to keep her temper under control. “I don’t know what I’d do if you…”

Luz was quiet for a moment. She let out a gentle breath. “I’ll try to be more careful then.”

“No,” Amity ran a hand through her hair, the tone of Luz’s voice making her feel guilty for admitting anything at all.

“What do you mean  _ no _ ? What is it that I’m doing wrong?” Luz started to sound annoyed.

“Let’s just stop talking about it. There’s nothing  _ wrong. _ ”

“Amity I want to make sure that this is fun for you, but I can’t do that if you don’t let me fix this.”

“There’s  _ nothing _ to fix.” Amity insisted through gritted teeth. Was there no end to Luz’s stubbornness? Has she always been so insistent about ‘helping’ everyone?

“Clearly there is! I’m sorry I didn’t know about the snow beast or plan ahead for us nearly falling to our deaths, but the least I can do is try to calm you down. If you would just  _ let _ me,”

Luz’s own aggravation and persistence was a tipping point for Amity. “Why can’t you just drop it? Why are you so desperate to have everything given to you? So you can fix something that has nothing to do with you? Something that doesn’t even need to be fixed! Does it make you feel better or something?”

“ _ No _ , but you’re being ridiculous!”

“You’re stressing me out! Between the hunters and you almost dying and…” Amity groaned, frustrated as she ran a hand through her hair. “I’m tense, okay?  _ Sorry _ if I’m a little snippy, because so far, all I have are reasons to be anxious.”

“Then let me help you,” 

“No, Luz. No. Okay? Can you just let things be the way they are for once? Not everything is a problem for you to solve, or some kind of  _ answer _ that you need! I have my reasons, and that should be enough for you to just let me be, and let me cool off on my own!”

“You’re not doing a very good job of cooling off on your own,” Luz commented with a scoff.

"And you're not helping!" Amity retorted angrily. Luz backed off, eyes wide. Amity’s head was pounding, she couldn’t tell if it was from anger, regret, or just left over pain from the fall, but it didn’t help her mood.

She turned away from Luz and covered her face with a single hand and took a few short breaths. “I need to take a walk.” she got up, leaving Luz by the fire. She didn’t dare look back at the girl. She just kept her arms wrapped around her chest and wandered into the forest. She didn’t hear Luz follow her, so she relaxed. Her eyes focused on the ground as she walked.

_ You’re being dramatic. _ She criticized herself.  _ Luz is bending over backwards to make this fun for you, and you’re being difficult and nit picking every little thing she does. She fought against the  _ Emperor! _ She’s more than capable of handling herself. You? You’re much weaker. _

She took a shaky breath, finding herself by yet another cliffside. She looked around, then looked up at the moon. A little ways off from the cliff edge, Amity sat down with her knees against her chest as she let her mind get rid of all her loud thoughts.

_ Luz definitely deserves better than this. You’re giving her a hard time, and for what? All because she got hurt  _ once _ , and you’re scared to death that she won’t make it out again? _

_ It’s a reasonable fear. Luz doesn’t know enough magic to keep herself out of harm's way, and my magic isn’t exactly working right now. _

_ But she saved you both from falling to your death. Both of you made it out with only a few cuts and scrapes. She’s better than your fears are making her out to be. Even if she is a bit reckless, you’re no better. What have you done to help besides buy the compass and get in her way? So far you’ve only ogled her and yelled at her…  _

Amity sat in silence after that thought, holding her hand over her face.

_ You’re being an awful friend. _

Her nerves itched at the thought of going back to Luz, just to check on her, but that would probably upset Luz more. She’s already confused as to why Amity was acting the way she was, not to mention that Amity had snapped at her and didn’t answer any of her questions right out. 

_ If only I told her then. I’m not  _ just _ scared she’ll get hurt. How would I explain to  _ Eda _ that Luz got hurt on my watch? How would I go another day without her? It was hard enough when she wasn’t at school. If something happened to her… I’d probably lose myself. _ Amity took a deep breath.  _ I need to get it together. Luz is trying her best, the least I could do is cooperate. I’m obsessed with the idea that she needs me, but I guess it’s the other way around.  _

_ I should apologize.  _ Amity thought briefly, looking up at the moon slowly slipping toward the horizon.  _ At the very least anyways. I’ll tell her how I feel eventually. _

“As if,” Amity whispered to herself. “When did everything change?”

_ It changed when I tried to kiss her no doubt. Something was obviously off. I might as well just spill the secret first. That way at least she’s explicitly aware.  _

Amity hummed to herself, frustrated with her thoughts urging her to come clean. A rustling behind her distracted her long enough to flinch and whip her head around. She assumed she was alone, and hoped no creature sprung out from the bushes to attack her. And while she didn’t  _ expect _ Luz to come out, staring at the forest for a few minutes, she was surprised when  _ nothing _ came out. Cautiously, she got up and approached the sound. Footsteps started to walk away, and Amity got up to follow. “Hello?” she called. In response to her question, whatever was hiding started running. Without thinking, she gave chase. “Luz?!” She called, the footsteps getting faster. Determined, Amity pushed away the ache of her legs and continued to run after them. She barely dodged enough branches to keep the leaves out of her hair, but she reached the campfire. She slowed down as she got closer. 

Confused, she looked around. Luz hadn’t moved at all. She was just poking at the fire with a stick. She had her back turned to Amity though, even after all the noise she’d made. Amity’s chest hurt from sprinting, and her breath was heavy.  _ What was I chasing? _ She swallowed, forcing her breath to steady. The ache in her legs grew more apparent, but she went over to Luz and sat beside her. Not too close, but close enough to show that she’d calmed down and wasn’t upset anymore. Luz gave her a glance, and they held eye contact for a short moment, but not a word was spoken. 

A silent understanding.

The only noise she could hear was the cracking of the fire and the distant wildlife. Amity, feeling guilty and defeated, laid down. The moon seemed to be mocking her. It’s waning presence looking like a smile from where she was laying. And she was in  _ no _ mood for smiling. She noticed Luz also laying down out of the corner of her eye, but she was laying on her side, facing away from Amity.

_ I deserve that. I upset her. I can’t keep my story straight.  _ She let out a quiet but long breath.  _ It’s not easy to say that I’m only worried because I love you Luz. It’s far harder than I thought it would be.  _

Amity closed her eyes and ignored the sounds of the forest so she could sleep.

It wasn’t for long, and she woke up just as exhausted as when she fell asleep. Just as well, she had an awful taste in her mouth. She expected the sun to blind her as soon as she opened her eyes, but one glimpse of the clouds above and she knew it was going to rain. She sat up, looking at Luz, who was sound asleep. The human girl had rolled onto her back and had a hand on her chest. 

Luz slept on the floor anyways, of course this was as good as home for her. But as the thunder boomed above them, Amity grew antsy.

“Luz!” she hissed, but Luz responded with a dismissive wave and she rolled over again. “ Get up!”

“Why?” the human girl groaned, covering her ears with her arms. If Amity didn’t know any better, she’d think Luz was resisting on purpose. 

“It’s going to rain, we need to find shelter.”

“It’s fine we’re inside.” Luz’s voice drifted off. She was actually trying to go back to sleep.

“Luz!” Amity crawled over to her and started shaking her until she got up, rubbing her eye.

“Amity?” she yawned, looking up. She let out a short gasp upon seeing the clouds. Amity didn’t wait for her any longer. She grabbed Luz’s pouch and her hand and pulled her to her feet. 

“Let’s go!” she pulled Luz along. Amity had no idea where she was going, but at least she could see now. Her leg was practically begging her to stop running, needing more than a few hours on a forest floor to stop hurting. Amity ignored it though, she had to for now. She pulled Luz across a short stream and through a clearing until Luz ripped herself from Amity’s grasp.

“Look!” she pointed ahead. She gave a hop as a head start, flashing Amity an excited smile, before running off toward a cave just beyond a few trees. Amity was right on her heels, but she saw Luz jump and she looked down. 

“What the!” she slid to a halt, grabbing onto a nearby tree. Pebbles and dirt slid past her down into a narrow but  _ horrifically _ deep split in the ground, probably formed when the snake beast from earlier took off. Breathing hard, she looked at Luz. Luz had made it across just fine, and was waving her over while also glancing up at the sky. 

Amity shook her head. With the way her leg was throbbing, she wouldn’t make the jump. The ground just before the divide was on a downward slope. Surely she’d slip and fall in.

“Can’t you use one of your plant glyphs or something to make another bridge?”

“Amity, it’s not that far of a jump. I’ll catch you, I promise.” 

Her words were somewhat encouraging, but the longer Amity looked the more she remembered the  _ last _ time she risked falling a couple hundred  _ whatevers _ to the ground. The memory was far too recent, and it had her shaking as she clung tighter to the tree. She skittered back to more level ground and stared at Luz. She was staring at the sky.

“Amity, it’s okay. I won’t let you fall.” Luz held a hand out, her feet sliding a few rocks off the edge. “Trust me okay?”

Amity didn’t move. Luz’s voice was comforting, but she had her doubts. 

“Just keep your eyes on me when you jump okay, I’ll catch you.” Luz smiled encouragingly. 

Amity’s hand drifted along the tree and she inched forward. Luz coaxed her gently, but didn’t move from where she was standing. Amity gathered all her bearings and stared at Luz determined, and horrified, as she jumped. When she felt gravity retake its hold on her, she panicked, letting out a shriek just before she landed. 

Her foot slipped on the sloped ground just as Luz gripped her arm. Amity struggled to her feet. Once on level ground, Amity ran into Luz, holding onto her as if the ground would fall beneath her at any moment.

“Hey hey hey,” Luz cooed at her. Trembling was an understatement for Amity. Part of her brain was trying to convince her that she fell, and she ended up crying into Luz’s shirt. “Shh, it’s okay Amity. You’re safe, you’re okay. You made the jump.”

“Don’t ever make me do that again.” Amity clutched the back of Luz’s shirt. She was deliberately hiding her face until the tears stopped coming. She was willing herself to relax but it wasn’t working fast enough. 

“I won’t, let’s just get into the cave.” 

Amity didn’t move. When Luz let go, Amity squeezed her tighter. 

Luz chuckled. “You’re not gonna let go?”

“No.”

Luz patted her hair gently and the thunder rumbled above them. Luz started backing up, and Amity followed. She had definitely put more pressure on her leg than she would have liked during the jump, but she could walk. Luz backed them both up until they were safe inside the cave. At that moment, the sky crackled and the rain began to fall. 

“I thought you weren’t afraid of anything?” Luz quipped after a few minutes of just standing and petting Amity’s hair. The comment brought a gentle heat to the witch’s face and she let go of Luz’s shirt. 

“Shut up,” Amity grumbled, pulling away from the taller girl and hiding her face. She inhaled quietly and wiped the tear stains from her face.

“It’s okay to admit you’re afraid of something Amity. I mean, I’m afraid of things.” Luz said kindly, putting a hand on Amity’s shoulder. “I’m afraid of the ocean, I’m afraid of being on  _ planes _ , and oh! I’m  _ terrified _ of making my mom upset.” 

Amity looked back at her then. Luz was giving her a sweet, comforting smile. It faltered a little as Luz got a better look at Amity, but she didn’t make any comments. She only walked in front of the other girl and cupped her face. “You don’t have to act all fearless in front of me. If you’re scared, I’ll do what I can to make you feel safe. Okay? I promise.” 

Amity was going to reply, but Luz tilted her head downward and brushed her hair back. Within seconds, Amity felt the ever so gentle touch of Luz’s lips against her forehead.

_ Did she just? _

Amity looked up at Luz then, absolutely baffled yet enchanted. Her mind went to work immediately, analyzing the exact way Luz was staring at her. She didn’t have long to do so and didn’t get much out of it. Luz blinked and patted Amity on the head and with that she stepped back and reached into her waist pouch.

She took the compass out, knowing it wouldn’t work, but she stared at it anyways. 

“I wish we could have found what this was pointing to,” she sighed. She was still smiling, and Amity could have sworn she saw some sort of red tinting her cheeks, but Luz was changing the subject.

Amity hummed, deciding to go along. “Maybe when the rain stops, the moon will be out again. It’s unlikely though.” 

“Well, maybe there’s something other than a dead end in this cave.” Luz winked and put the compass away. 

Luz activated one of her light glyphs and gave another to Amity. The witch took it, well aware she could do her own light spell. From there, the two walked on in silence. The cave seemed more and more like a tunnel the farther they walked. And Amity found herself looking in Luz’s direction often, hoping the girl would say something. They’d gotten pretty far from the cave entrance and Luz hadn’t said a word. 

_ I guess it’s my turn to apologize _ . 

Amity sighed. “Luz,” she stopped walking. Luz took a few extra steps, but she stopped as well and turned to face Amity with a curious gaze.

“You okay?” Luz asked quietly when Amity hesitated.

Amity nodded. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for giving you such a hard time earlier. I don’t think you’re fragile, or stupid. I’m really sorry I said those things. I’m just... I’m worried. After you got hurt by the witch hunters, I keep thinking they’re going to come out of nowhere and take you away from me. And if they don’t something else  _ will _ .”

“Don’t worry,” Luz smiled gently. “I won’t leave you alone out here, even if I do get kidnapped.” she walked back toward Amity and nudged her shoulder playfully.

“No, Luz, that’s not what I mean.”

Luz’s smile dropped in confusion. 

“I’m not afraid of being alone out here. Since I’ve met you, I’ve become vulnerable, in a way. It’s different from what I was taught growing up. It’s scary. And…” Amity swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m afraid that if you go away… you won’t come back.”

Something seemed to click in Luz’s mind, and she looked sympathetic. “Amity, I promise nothing will happen to me. I’m not going anywhere any time soon. I’ll be by your side.” she held her arm out and gave Amity a side hug. “Besides, we’re in this together.” she patted Amity’s other shoulder. “So let’s see it through. I’ll get us both home safe.”

Amity took Luz’s hand hesitantly, certain that she would be pulled away, but Luz only guided her. The cave floor started to slope downward slightly, but they were careful. At this point Luz  _ was _ dragging Amity just a little, since the shorter girl was falling behind. The light glyphs seemed to burn brighter, and soon Amity saw something sparkling ahead. 

Luz must have seen it too, since she started walking faster. Amity struggled to keep up, the pain in her ankle coming back a little stronger as she just barely held a limp as she ran. Amity looked up at Luz as the taller girl stopped at some sort of pond. She let go of Amity’s hand to get closer, but the witch was once again suspicious. “Where are we?” Amity whispered. There was no echo like there was earlier. Her question was met with silence until Luz spoke.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “I can’t see anything but the ground and this pond.” she turned around. She held up the light glyph to her face. “And you,”

“I don’t trust this. Where are the cave walls?” Amity held up her own glyph, but nothing reflected the light. She hadn’t even noticed the walls fading from sight when they entered. It was as if they were trapped in some void, similar to the one in the case the compass came in. For a second, Amity wondered if they had been going here this entire time. She waved the glyph around more and she saw something illuminate off to the side. “Oh! Luz, look!” she jogged over to what appeared to be a sign. The wood looked rotten and the letters looked jumbled to Amity, and she struggled to read it. It wasn’t like anything she’d had to decipher in silly word puzzles. 

Luz walked over toward Amity and leaned over to look at the sign. “Oh! This is easy. It says uh,” Luz squinted at the sign and crouched beside Amity. “ _ Light the reveal right _ ,” she paused, eyes scanning the sign. “Oh it’s backwards. My bad.  _ Reverse the effects, reverse your steps. Two steps backward someone gets hurt, one step forward someone gets heard. One step left you’ll be bereft, Step twice right reveal the light _ .” 

“What does that mean?”

“No clue.” Luz drawled on in thought and tapped her chin. “Only one way to find out.” Luz stood up and spun around toward the pond again. Amity watched as she crouched by the water and dipped her fingers into it. The witch definitely held her gripes about Luz’s curiosity, but when nothing happened, she let herself stand up as well. “It’s just water.” Luz seemed mesmerized by the fact. “It looks like the inside of the case though, doesn’t it?”

Amity hummed in acknowledgement. At least Luz and her were on the same page. Surely the compass brought them here and not mere coincidence.

Luz pulled her hand back and watched the water drip off her fingers. The smile on her face was of  _ pure _ amazement. She took a handful of it and slowly raised it to her mouth.

“Don’t drink it!” Amity fretted loudly. Luz stared at Amity for only a moment before she dropped the rest of it back into the pond. There was no sound of water hitting water though, just silence. 

“It doesn’t taste like anything, I’m not even sure if I drank it.” Luz wiped her lip then her hand on her shorts and stood up. Amity groaned nervously. “My curious nature urges me to step inside,” she thought out loud. 

“Please don’t,” Amity muttered.

“Let’s just walk around it and find a way out of the cave.” Luz took hold of her light glyph again.

Amity nodded and walked toward Luz. She was relieved that she wouldn’t have to stay in this creepy cave for much longer. As she took a step closer, there was a slight breeze, and Amity felt a bit dizzy, as if the ground beneath her was shifting. Luz was still looking around by the edge of the pond, but she stepped forward and reached for Amity’s hand. 

As soon as their hands came in contact, there was a brief searing feeling in her fingertips. It felt like a simple shock. Amity winced, but looked up at Luz. The human girl’s eyes were as dark and devoid as the water and the area surrounding them. She saw that same dark water dripping from Luz’s chin and their glyphs fizzled out. Amity was glad she could still see Luz and the ground beneath their feet, but fear climbed up her spine as she realized she couldn’t see anything else. Not the pond, not the sign, all of it seemed to have disappeared.

The shock from earlier returned but stronger. It seized Amity’s hand and it  _ hurt _ . Some sort of black sludge had seeped from where their hands came in contact and climbed up toward both of their arms. Amity tried to pull back before it got far, but as she struggled, the sludge grabbed onto her faster. She let out a whimper of fear but her hand didn't budge. It was like quicksand, trapping her faster if she resisted. She felt the gunk climbing up one of her legs as well, forcing her to stay in place.

Amity looked around in a panic, trying to find some sort of escape from this situation. She was losing feeling in her captive arm despite the pain and it felt as if something was trying to worm its way into her head. She clenched her teeth. The sudden migraine was unbearable, and she let out a shout of pain. She used her free hand to hold onto her head just to cope with the growing lightheadedness. Her heart gave a tug briefly and her chest felt cold afterwards.

Luz’s voice drew her attention away from the pain momentarily. She was  _ whispering _ something. The sludge had passed Luz’s shoulder and was climbing toward her face. Her voice came out as if there were more people beside them, speaking with her and the air around them felt cold and suffocating.

“Secretos revelados. Ahora sabemos cómo te sientes.” Luz chanted quietly, the sludge covering her neck. She repeated it over and over, the sound of it freaked Amity out immensely. Amity was well aware that Luz occasionally spoke in a language that was unknown on the Boiling Isles, but this felt so much different. It was like Luz’s words weren’t her own.

As the sludge touched her chin, Amity screamed and in a burst of strength, ripped herself away from Luz. The black sludge hardened when she pulled and it tore the sleeve off her shirt. It seemed to dig into her arm, determined to keep her trapped, but it only scratched her arm and scraped her ankle but she broke free completely. She took two steps backwards in a stumble and Luz’s eyes returned to normal amidst the darkness. The sudden sink in the ground behind her warned Amity too late that she’d stepped over an edge. Fighting her rapidly growing terror, she threw a hand out, hoping Luz would catch her. Unfortunately for both of them, there was not enough time for Luz to react. 

“Luz!” Amity cried out desperately.

“Amity!” Luz, suddenly free from the mysterious paralyzing sludge, barely shot an arm out in a futile effort to try to catch Amity. She practically jumped forward but the ground gave way all too quickly. Luz watched helplessly as Amity descended further into the darkness below. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sory, this came out like a week (or 2?) late,, i wanted to re-edit it again lol but i didnt bc its fine so hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> Edit: so chapters 10-12 are going under a little bit of a rewrite! So this will be on pause until i can tie up all the loose ends!


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